Digital Commons Network^™

Macromolecular Crowding On The Formation Of Amyloid Fiber Hydrogel, Rachael Marie Crews

Theses and Dissertations

The aggregation of proteins to form fibrillar deposits is a hallmark of numerous medical conditions, including Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Protein monomers aggregate to form amyloid fibers, followed by these fibers further aggregating to form larger structures such as fiber bundles and hydrogels. Previous studies into protein aggregation were mostly done under dilute solutions that poorly reflect the crowded nature of the tissue environment. Can a liquid solution truthfully represent what is going on in a solid tissue? Utilizing lysozyme as a model protein and two different polysaccharides as crowding agents, dextran and hyaluronic acid (HA), the effects of macromolecular crowding …

Crispr-Based Genome Editing Of Caenorhabditis Elegans And Cultured Human Cells, Katie Marie Toperzer

Theses and Dissertations

The fields of genetics and molecular biology have grown exponentially in the knowledge and ability to edit DNA sequences. The discovery of DNA structure in the 1950s and enzymes that are able to make site-specific cuts in the 1970s allowed scientists to harness growth in the field of genetic engineering and develop realistic gene therapies for diseases. In my thesis, I will utilize cutting-edge technology to be the first person at Florida Tech to genetically engineer two different model systems. Using CRISPR, I will study the molecular mechanisms of fertilization by introducing a genetically encoded reporter in C. elegans. Additionally, …

Preparation, Performance, And Experience Evaluation Of "Symmetrical Structures" By Giorgi Papiashvili, Ana Galdavadze

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Shortening Of Telomeres Caused By Bacterial Lipopolysaccharides In Hiv-1 Exposed Human Oral Keratinocytes, Daphne Alcala Zúñiga

Theses and Dissertations

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1) continues to affect many individuals around the globe. Although people with HIV (PWH) have longer life expectancies because of modern treatments, they continue to exhibit comorbidities that are signs of premature aging compared to healthy individuals. The significance of the oral microbiome during HIV-1 infection has become of interest as chronic inflammatory conditions, such as periodontitis, have shed light on the detrimental effects of chronic inflammation. HIV-1 infection can promote dysbiosis, an imbalance of the oral microbiota, which in turn promotes the growth of opportunistic microorganisms such as P. gingivalis. This overpopulation enhances pathogenicity through …

Factors Influencing The Faunal Recolonization Of Restored Thornscrub Forest Habitats, Audrey J. Hicks

Theses and Dissertations

Tamaulipan thornscrub forests have high ecological and economic value, yet over 90% of these forests have been lost, primarily due to agriculture and urban expansion, and they remain threatened, making them a conservation hotspot. For decades, federal, state, NGO, and corporate entities have been acquiring land and actively or passively restoring these forests, but results have been mixed and seldom monitored. This study characterized and quantified faunal communities of restored thornscrub forest habitats in south Texas and examined the relationships between restored faunal communities and key site characteristics and environmental factors. We surveyed and analyzed mammals, birds, Lepidoptera, and herptiles …

Determination Of Effective Index Of Refraction Of Structured Materials (Photonic Crystals), Md Arafat Hossain

Theses and Dissertations

Photonic crystals have been widely studied by researchers due to their ability to control light propagation in all spatial directions. For example, 2D photonic crystals can be made of dielectric rods arranged in a square lattice. When light propagates through 2D photonic crystals, it experiences multiple scatterings by the crystal centers. The superposition of all scattered waves forms the transmitted field largely dependent upon the effective index of refraction of the structured material. We propose a method to determine the effective index of refraction through such materials with the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) model. We set up the interface of two …

Abort Mission: An Audio Drama, Maribel Salome Sanchez

Theses and Dissertations

The culmination of the audio drama and its critical introduction focuses on the current political climate regarding abortion rights, media manipulation, and governmental control as well as Latinx representation in art and media. The script follows two sisters on their mission to create an undetected, underground abortion service in a quickly evolving American dystopia.

Inspired by multiple works of both screenplays, audio dramas, and novels, my work is meant to inspire radical change to minorities in a world where hope is quickly fading.

Symphony No. 1, Isaac Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis contains an original multi-movement work for orchestra. The music score is preceded by a theoretical analysis that examines the construction of the work including the expansion of various motives and themes, the use of variations, palindromes, and one example of axis of symmetry. It is hoped that this symphony, within a historical context, will find its way into the modern concert repertoire of the twenty-first century.

Using Actor-Critic Reinforcement Learning For Control Of A Quadrotor Dynamics, Edgar Adrian Torres

Theses and Dissertations

This paper presents a quadrotor controller using reinforcement learning to generate near-optimal control signals. Two actor-critic algorithms are trained to control quadrotor dynamics. The dynamics are further simplified using small angle approximation. The actor-critic algorithm’s control policy is derived from Bellman’s equation providing a sufficient condition to optimality. Additionally, a smoother converter is implemented into the trajectory providing more reliable results. This paper provides derivations to the quadrotor’s dynamics and explains the control using the actor-critic algorithm. The results and simulations are compared to solutions from a commercial, optimal control solver, called DIDO.

Cross-Platform Development Of Wake-Up-Word, Christopher Ryan Woodle

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this project will be to explore cross-platform implementation of Wake-Up- Word (WUW). To enable the development of future speech-based artificial intelligence applications, it is important to have robust and accessible implementations of WUW. Adoption of Unix based operating systems continues to expand for server, backend, and embedded applications, therefore a WUW implementation in Unix will become essential. As web technologies continue to grow, WUW will also need to be implemented in web, using technologies such as JavaScript and Web Assembly (WASM). This project encompasses porting the previous implementation of WUW from Microsoft Windows to Unix, building a …

Modeling User Behavior For Cyber Security With Formal Methods And Agent Based Simulation, Hamdah Albalawi

Theses and Dissertations

Despite society’s positive outlook, technology poses real cyber security threats. Technology’s benefits can sometimes make it difficult to believe that potential threats lurk behind every device and platform. As cybercrime rises, we have come to rely increasingly on flawed devices and services. As cyberattacks become more prevalent, security professionals are committed to developing more robust and dependable security solutions. In cyber security, human error is regarded as the weakest link since all technical security solutions are vulnerable to human error. Among other human characteristics, risk-taking, logical decision-making, extraversion, and gender can significantly affect cyber security. However, there still is the …

Generational Gap: Tales From A Vaquero Fracasado, Shawn Michael Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

Mexican American culture holds a strong grasp in the roots of South Texas. The proud Latino heritage is at the forefront of The Valley’s metaphorical cover page. Naturally, with such strong cultural influence comes adaptions of antiqued ways of living and the morality of a dying generation which is slowly losing their stronghold on the throats of the youth. The elders are used to a specific, and sometimes socially problematic, lifestyle that includes machismo, patriarchal sovereignty, and gender based roles that are fitting to a specific generational expectation.

This collection of writing aims to highlight the differences between the old …

Exploring A Bilingual Teacher Implementation Of Small Group Guided Reading Instruction Through Preview, View And Review, Vivian Pratts

Theses and Dissertations

Teaching and learning for emergent bilinguals is often based on monolingual instructional assumptions which ignore how emergent bilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning. Bilingual pedagogies such as Preview-View-Review have the potential to support the development of biliteracy and meaning-making of emergent bilinguals in dual language programs. The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate how a bilingual teacher in a two-way dual language program implements a Preview-View-Review through small group reading instruction. This strategy proposes the alternation of languages previewing and reviewing content in one language, while doing the view or main content teaching …

An Investigative Study Of Potential Factors That Contribute To High Under-Five Mortality Rate In Africa, David Banahene

Theses and Dissertations

Under-Five Mortality remains a significant challenge in developing countries, especially in Africa. The United Nations has implemented various measures, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to combat this issue. However, the success of these initiatives is uncertain. Our study investigates the social, economic, and environmental factors contributing to high Under-Five Mortality rates in African countries, using data from 1985 to 2020.We analyzed 53 African countries, partitioning them into training (45 countries) and testing data (8 countries). We conducted Multiple Linear Regression analysis and assessed the model performance using R-squared values and Root-Mean-Squared-Error (RMSE) values. …

South Texas Elegy: Life During A Global Pandemic, Brianna Bullion

Theses and Dissertations

South Texas Elegy: Life During a Global Pandemic highlights the narrator’s experience with loss and grief during the coronavirus pandemic, which started in early 2020. This piece is written from the perspective of a narrator living in the Rio Grande Valley, which is in the southmost region of Texas.

This memoir contains thirteen chapters, which discuss deaths of close friends and family members, periods of waiting which occurred in between deaths and updates on the coronavirus, and the narrator’s reflection at the end of the piece. This memoir is a tribute to lost loved ones and an account of an …

Characterization Of Lower Rio Grande Valley Watershed, Abdulkabir O. Aduragba

Theses and Dissertations

The Lower Laguna Madre (LLM) is considered impaired because of the high concentration of bacteria and low level of dissolved oxygen (DO). LLM receives freshwater from the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) watershed. In other to understand the impairment, LRGV watershed is being studied by relying on water quality data of the contributing drainages and State resource geographic data to identify watershed boundary and pollutant sources.

The study on the North and Central LRGV watershed shows some correlation between the concentration of E. coli/Bacteria, Ammonia, Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus, Nitrate and Nitrite, Chlorophyll-a and the sources of pollutant in …

The Relationship Of Graduating Students (Alumni-To-Be)’S Sense Of Belonging And Their Intent To Give Back To Their Alma Mater At A Hispanic Serving Institution (Hsi) In South Texas, Lanlan Alvarado

Theses and Dissertations

Higher education institutions are increasingly relying on funding from the private sector (Council for Aid to Education, 2013) as state funding to higher education has decreased in recent years. Bridging the gap between university financial needs and available funding has become a high priority. In the process, higher education institutions have enlisted their advancement offices towards such bridging efforts by systematically bringing in financial support from donors, alumni, corporations, and foundations.

Funding from private sources fluctuates with changes in the macro-economic environment, laws, and regulations, as well as shifts in philanthropic interests in the public. Alumni giving constitutes a substantial …

The Relationship Between South Texas Principals’ School Climate, Leadership Style And The Use Of Communication Through Social Media And Other Methods, Alberto R. Canales Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between principals’ school climate (supportive, directive, engaged, frustrated, and intimate behaviors), leadership style, and frequency of communication with teachers. In doing so, a test of significance was carried out using an F-distribution, an alpha level of .05, and a multiple linear regression analysis as the statistical method. School climate, the dependent variable, was tested to find which independent variables, leadership style and frequency of communication, were related and to what amount these variables contributed to the total variance in school climate.

The results revealed that supportive behavior in school climate …

Flowers For The Dead, Joaquin Castillo Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This collection of poetry and photography is a practice in creating a multimodal work that gives equal weight to each medium. These are presented as three sections, Mictlān, Kingdom of the Sun, and Old 83; for the purpose of this manuscript, they are in reverse chronological order. The first two sections use the trials of Mictlān as a narrative throughline to explore language, displacement, and the loss and mourning of indigenous identity. These pieces are a criticism against the systemic issues and institutional violence that contribute to the ongoing disenfranchisement of borderlands communities and people. The third section is more …

Faculty Perceptions Of Online Instruction And Educational Technology In Higher Education, Raul Nick Cabrera

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to obtain faculty perceptions of online instruction and educational technology in higher education. Data was collected from eight participants through interviews and open-ended questions at a higher education institution. Results showed that faculty consider that online instruction is only possible for certain programs and that it’s only for certain student populations. In addition, faculty perceive online learning environments as a repository for class information and serve as a communication medium between instructor and student. Furthermore, faculty believe that there is no substitution for traditional teaching methods regardless of the educational technology available. Theoretical and …

Effect Of Elevated Temperature And Roundup Exposure On Oxidative Stress And Antioxidant Status In The American Oyster, Afsana Chowdhury

Theses and Dissertations

Aquatic organisms are frequently exposed to various environmental stressors. In this study, we observed the short-term (1-week) combined dose-dependent effect of Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, and high temperature (30°C) on the morphology of gills and digestive glands, expression of heat shock protein-70 (HSP70), dinitrophenyl protein (DNP), nitrotyrosine protein (NTP), antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (CAT) and superoxidase dismutase (SOD) in tissues of American oyster (Crassostrea virginica). Histological analyses showed an increase in mucous production in the gills and digestive glands, hemocyte aggregation in the connective tissues as well as structural change of the lumen in the digestive glands …

Teacher Perceptions Of Instructional Feedback, Rita Caltabiano-Carrillo

Theses and Dissertations

The instructional feedback cycle is an essential tool in the field of education. When implemented successfully, feedback has the potential to significantly affect student and teacher growth. However, instructional feedback frequently goes unimplemented or unvalued, which can potentially lead to a decrease in student performance or the instructional effectiveness of the teacher. The purpose of this quantitative research study is to examine teacher perceptions of feedback received from instructional coaches and to examine seasoned and unseasoned teachers’ implementation of feedback in their instructional practices. This study focuses on the teacher population at a public charter school district in Texas.

Analysis Of Post-Translational Modifications (Ptm) Crosstalk, Amit Das

Theses and Dissertations

Mass spectrometry-based proteomics is a powerful tool for identifying post-translational modifications (PTMs) across the proteome. O-GlcNAcylation and phosphorylation are two PTMs that play crucial roles in regulating cellular processes, including cardiac contractile function. Dysregulation of these PTMs has been implicated in the development and progression of diabetic cardiomyopathy. In this study, we aimed to investigate the interplay between O-GlcNAcylation and phosphorylation in healthy and type 2 diabetic hearts, with a specific focus on the functional relationships between these PTMs and their potential therapeutic implications.

Utilizing mass spectrometry data, we identified and quantified specific PTMs on myofilament proteins, uncovering 1354 O-GlcNAcylated …

Creation Of A College Math Club For High School Students, Lilian N. Chavez

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to investigate the variables that contribute to high school students' desire to join a math club, specifically the FMiM VIP Club, which is an extension of UTRGV's Follow Me into Math research project. The research utilized multiple questionnaire s to examine the combination of factors that contribute to the students' attitudes toward the math club. The participants were high school Algebra 2 students from two different schools, and the study was conducted in two stages. The first stage was conducted in the Spring of 2022, focusing on girls' math identity and their interactions with the FMiM VIP …

Sweet Potato In The Lower Rio Grande Valley: Evaluating Performance Across Several Cultivars, Jon Dale

Theses and Dissertations

In Texas’ subtropical, semiarid Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV), citrus and sugarcane cultures have dominated specialty crop production for more than a half-century. However, the future of these high-dollar crops is becoming uncertain with increases in exotic pathogens, intensifying urbanization and the overarching complexities of both climate change and binational governance of Rio Grande Basin waters. For these reasons, the region’s specialty crop sector needs to be ready for alternatives that could benefit both market outlets and reduced input dependencies. Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), commercially grown in various similar climates worldwide with limited water resources, could be one …

Self-Supervised Representation Learning For Motion Time Series: A Case Study In Activity Recognition, Luis Carlos Garza Perez

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis we will learn about what contrastive learning and time series are and understand the differences between supervised and self-supervised frameworks in machine learning. In addition, we will describe how the newest and most efficient self-supervised learning framework for visual representations to this date works, called SimCLR, which was originally developed to obtain useful vector representations from static images. We will also explain what TS2Vec is, and how a combination of both approaches can be applied to the concept of a time series, and still be able to extract a vector representation of the subject described by the …

The Role Of The Similarity Between Suppliers' And Buyers' Sustainability Practices In Improving Suppliers' Performance: An Empirical Investigation, Kwanheui Cheon

Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability has become an essential component of corporate survival and prosperity. As a result, companies are eager to introduce sustainability to every part of their businesses. In addition, because stakeholders' interest has spread from companies to their entire supply chain, companies must manage their relationships with other supply chain members regarding sustainability. Consequently, there has been an interest in investigating the implementation and management of sustainability along supply chains. However, there are still voids in sustainable supply chain management research. For example, scholars have pointed out the need for research on sustainability from a supplier perspective as opposed to the …

Population Genetics Among Rhipicephalus Sanguineus Ticks In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Bianca Liana Guerra

Theses and Dissertations

Rhipicephalus sanguineus is a common tick species in the lower Rio Grande Valley of both human and veterinary concern. Two lineages of R. sanguineus have been described across the United States known as the tropical and temperate lineage. Both lineages can be differentiated morphologically, genetically, biologically, and by vector competence. The species name for both lineages has not been well established therefore this thesis will utilize their widely used identification. Both lineages have been identified in Texas. While the distribution of these lineages has been well-defined in some regions across the world, recent studies have observed sympatric populations in certain …

“Screen Riders” An Exploration Of Breaking Away From The Norms Of Cinematic Storytelling, Jake Alexander Escamilla

Theses and Dissertations

Throughout my time in college, I would always hear people discussing how originality is dead and that everything has been done before. Though I do believe there is some air of truth to these statements, I hold tight to the idea that originality is not truly gone. My belief is that the entertainment industry is so set on playing it safe, they do not wish to break away and explore new ideas which have never been done before. I believe that if more creatives were given the freedom to try new combinations and had more fun doing what they love, …

Formation Control Of Multiple Quadrotors, Miguel Alejandro Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies formation control of multiple quadrotors under different conditions. Two controller design approaches are proposed. In the first approach, it is assumed that the dynamics of each quadrotor is unknown and there is disturbance. With the aid of distributed estimation and the universal approximation property of neural networks, distributed tracking controllers are proposed. Simulation shows the effectiveness of the proposed controllers. In the second approach, it is assumed that the inertia parameters are unknown. With the aid of distributed estimation, online data estimation, and optimal control theory, distributed sub-optimal tracking controllers are proposed. Simulation results show the effectiveness …