Digital Commons Network^™

Whiteface, Briley D. Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Whiteface is a strange, sad novel about a young Comanche man who passes as white in 19th century Galveston. It is inspired by my ancestors Quanah and Cynthia Ann Parker.

Engineering Of Bio-Based And Synthetic Polymers: Synthesis And Application In Superabsorbent Materials And Antibacterial Agents, Jihyeon Hwang

Theses and Dissertations

A polymer consists of a large number of monomer units, which can be obtained naturally or via a chemical process called polymerization. Polymers are important materials that are used in our daily life. Life would not be possible without these polymers, either from plant biomass or petroleum-derived synthetic polymers. The substitution of petroleum-derived to biomass-based polymers has been highlighted to mitigate adverse environmental impact. However, the use of bio-based polymers is still a significant challenge for more demanding applications. In this dissertation work, the engineering of both bio-based and synthetic polymers and their properties are investigated.

In Chapter 1, the …

Structural And Immunological Characterization Of Inhaled Allergens And Their Complexes With Antibodies, Kriti Khatri

Theses and Dissertations

Allergy is an outcome of an allergen-antibody reaction (1). Potent airborne allergens from dust mites and pets are major causative factors for allergic conditions among predisposed individuals. Group-2 allergen Der p 2 from Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus is a major allergen which causes allergic conditions in more than 80% of mite-allergic subjects (2). Similarly, airborne allergen Can f 1 from dog (Canis familiaris) is also a major risk allergen which affects 10-20% of the population worldwide (3). Considering the increasing prevalence of inhalant allergens in the environment, antigenic characterization is crucial for improving allergy diagnostics and management. This study focuses …

Vaccinia Virus And Measles Virus As Oncolytic Vaccines: The Modulation Of The Viral Infectivity Via Surface Conjugations, Monchupa Kingsak

Theses and Dissertations

Oncolytic virus (OV) therapy has been shown to be an effective targeted cancer therapy treatment in recent years, providing an avenue of treatment that poses no damage to surrounding healthy tissues. Not only do OVs cause direct oncolysis, but they also amplify both innate and adaptive immune responses generating long-term antitumor immunity. However, a key challenge facing oncolytic virotherapy is neutralizing antibodies in vaccinated patients, leading to the viral clearance after systemic administration and failure in the treatment. The encapsulation of OVs using biocompatible polymers is one of the promising methods to prevent the viral clearance from antiviral immune responses. …

Is There A Relationship Between Direct Patient Care Registered Nurses Emotional Intelligence And Patient Satisfaction?, James J. Leach

Theses and Dissertations

Many studies have examined Emotional Intelligence (EI) ’s role in various groups of people. However, to date, there have not been any studies examining the role of EI in direct patient care given by ICU nurses and the relationship between the nurses’ EI and patient satisfaction. With the importance of patient satisfaction tied to hospital reimbursement and the many approaches that have been made to improve patient satisfaction, studying the people (nurses) who spend the most time with the patient seems right. The data used for this study was obtained from an EI inventory for the nurses and an ICU-specific …

Nature As Culture: Ecofeminist Narratives Of Environmental And Colonial History, Sydney Leimbach

Theses and Dissertations

“Nature as Culture: Ecofeminist Narratives of Environmental and Colonial History” is a cross-cultural, comparative, feminist investigation of two films, The Nightingale and Wolfwalkers, and two books, The Giving Tree and The Overstory. The narratives are analyzed through a combination of ecofeminism and decolonial feminism, revealing the four narratives’ investment in the effects of colonization on the environment. The two chapters explore the association of women with nature, traditionally used as a subordinating position, instead as a condition of empathetic understanding with both the colonized and the environment. Further, these narratives use the association of women with nature as …

A Cross-Sectional Analysis Of Infectious Causes Of Congenital Morbidity And Mortality In Central America: Torch, El Salvador, Mary Katherine Lynn

Theses and Dissertations

The primary goal of this dissertation was to understand the prevalence of the most regionally salient TORCH pathogens among a group of perinatal women from a highly vulnerable region of El Salvador at the time of parturition. TORCH pathogens, that cause TORCH congenital syndromes, are classically defined as Toxoplasma gondii, other infectious causes of concern (Zika virus, malaria, human immunodeficiency virus, etc), Rubella virus, Cytomegalovirus(CMV), and Herpes Simplex Viruses. These infections can be passed from mother to fetus through the placenta or other perinatal routes and cause severe maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. This dissertation sought to understand perinatal …

The Kinetic Control Of Polymer Micelles; Chemical Functionality, Material Interactions, And Equilibration, Taylor Larison

Theses and Dissertations

Polymer micelles have found significant uses in areas such as, energy storage devices, catalysis, opto-electronics, drug-delivery, oil additives, and nanoreactors. In many of these applications the overall micelle size (aggregation number) and chemical functionalization determines performance. To progress towards more advanced materials synthesized from the facile bottom-up approach with polymeric micelles the implementation and study of thermodynamic handles were investigated. Here the kinetic control of micelles was studied across a range of applications; independent control over micelle functionality, the spatial orientation of multiple metal oxide nanoparticles in mesoporous materials via self-assembly, and the use of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) to …

Targeting Of Mediator Kinases For Cancer Therapy And Resistance Prevention, Zachary Thomas Mack

Theses and Dissertations

Estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancers make up 70% of all breast cancer incidences in the US. Cell cycle progression of ER-positive breast cancer is highly dependent on cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) 4 and 6, the G1/S checkpoint kinases. Inhibitors of CDK4/6 have become a major addition to the clinical arsenal against ER-positive breast cancers. CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib (IBRANCETM) has been approved for the treatment of ER-positive breast cancers. However, palbociclib treatment eventually fails due to the development of resistance. Laboratory studies revealed several diverse mechanisms of palbociclib resistance, making universal re-sensitization difficult to achieve. However, prevention of the adaptive process that …

Leptin, Serotonin, And The Control Of Food Intake, Nicholas David Maxwell

Theses and Dissertations

Obesity has created a devastating public health crisis that severely affects both quality of life and exacerbates serious health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. For this reason, better treatments are critical, yet there are very few. The systems that regulate our metabolism and food consumption are intricate, complex, and still poorly understood, as the brain integrates peripheral signals with central neural networks to control our energy balance. One of these peripheral signals, leptin, holds great promise as a way to treat obesity but has been ineffective in patients with obesity. Therefore, our goal is to better understand the …

“We Are Created Inferior To Men”: Leveraging Horsemanship To Reinforce Gender Expectations, 1830-1861, Gabrielle Marie Mccoy

Theses and Dissertations

Horses have played a central role in human society since 3500 BCE when humans began domesticating and riding horses in large numbers. Horses continued to be important to human society during the nineteenth century as people used horses to drive industrialization, manage plantations, and transport goods, among other uses. Although historians and anthropologists have long extolled the horse’s laboring value, this paper views the horse and horsemanship (i.e., horseback riding, horse training) in a social context. Through the examination of newspapers, fictional literature, and manuals, this paper argues that Americans used horses and horsemanship to reinforce antebellum gender expectations. Reinforcing …

Targeting Macrophages In Cancer Models Using Natural Compounds, Sierra Jordan Mcdonald

Theses and Dissertations

Cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide. More specifically, breast cancer (BrCa) and colorectal cancer (CRC) continue to be the most diagnosed cancers and leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Given that surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is only effective in 20% of CRC patients, and that there are no preventive agents for BrCa metastasis for hormone receptor negative patients, more effective agents and strategies are needed in both the prevention and treatment of these cancers. As one of the most abundant immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, macrophages help regulate primary tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis in many …

Kurt Vonnegut, A Difficult Feminist: Investigating Female Characters In Bluebeard, Matthew Steven Medl

Theses and Dissertations

After a brief contextualization of Vonnegut’s work, this essay close-reads his 1987 novel, Bluebeard, and locates the feminism within. I argue that Vonnegut establishes women as agents of generative change, breakers of marital conventions, artistic sages, authors, expressionists, interlopers, and nonviolent activists. I primarily examine Circe Berman and Marilee Kemp, supplementing with evidence from Edith Taft and Dorothy, as well as wider scholarship.

Coordination Environment And Thermodynamics Of Colloidal Quantum Dots In Polar Solvents, Nuwanthaka Prasad Jayaweera Millaniyage

Theses and Dissertations

Colloidal semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have been extensively investigated due to their attractive properties such as size-tunable absorption and emission spectra, large molar extinction coefficients, and significant photostability. These properties make them promising candidates for optoelectronic, photocatalytic, and biomedical applications. Common synthetic procedures of QDs produce nanocrystals capped with long-chain fatty acid derivatives which are stabilized in high boiling point solvents. Especially for bioimaging applications, the exchange of these native hydrophobic ligands with hydrophilic ligands should be performed, while preserving the smaller hydrodynamic radius. The coordination environment and thermodynamic parameters of the ligand exchanges should be carefully investigated to engineer …

The Widened Hearthstone Urban Playgrounds As The Infrastructure Of Public Mothering, 1900-1930, Alexandra Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the limitations on their formal political involvement, women across the United States took control of the Progressive Era playground movement, and playground advocates nationwide argued that urban play spaces constructed motherhood into the city. While many mothers used playgrounds for child care, playground directors used the maternal authority constructed into playgrounds to promote their ideas about ideal citizenship. One playground director, Mabel E. Macomber, called this aspect of playground work the “'mother' element,” believing, as did other workers and advocates, that playgrounds were part of the apparatus of urban mothering, and in the case of many poor working women, …

Female Infertility And Maternal And Infant Outcomes In South Carolina – The Role Of Insurance Type, Chelsea Mencio Norregaard

Theses and Dissertations

The overall objective of this research study was to examine the association between fertility treatments and maternal and infant birth outcomes, and to understand what role insurance type plays in these associations.

This retrospective statewide cohort study utilized population-based birth certificate data from January 2018 – December 2021in South Carolina, linked to all-payer claims data for outpatient services, inpatient admissions/discharges, and emergency department visits. Key exposure variables included insurance type and fertility treatment, depending on Aim. Key outcomes of interest included fertility treatment (Aim 1); maternal outcomes (Aim 2) including severe maternal morbidity, cesarean delivery without medical indication, elective labor …

Biochemical, Structural, And Immunological Characterization Of Selected Panallergens, Andrea Leigh O'Malley

Theses and Dissertations

Allergies throughout the world are increasing in prevalence and severity. Although the direct causes of the development of allergies are not confirmed, study of proteins that cause reactions will lead to a deeper understanding of allergy. This work focuses on three panallergen families, profilins, parvalbumins, and arginine kinases, to further elucidate the background of allergy from the point of view of the allergens themselves. In Chapter 1, we evaluate pollen, fruit, and mite profilins in the context of allergy, showing the relevance of conserved cysteine residues in stability and oligomerization as well as the first data on cross-reactivity between plant …

Learning To Spell, Alana Ines Perez

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores homonymic variations of the word “spell,” sewing together the framework for the ways my poems think about bilingualism, magic, Caribbean poetics, migration between northern and southern terrain, the body and personal spirituality. This thesis also experiments with forms old and new, such as the sonnet, and what I am naming “little altar poems” and “fragmented episodes.” These three forms attempt to do the work of recuperating Caribbean narratives and epistemologies. The “estrella sonnet” sequence uses the premise of an abortion as a way to initiate a nuanced discussion around how white patriarchy defines choice, consequently disregarding the …

Queer Mary: Queer Temporalities In Late Medieval And Early Modern Drama, Bradley James Peppers

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how the Virgin Mary’s presence in late medieval and early modern drama stages biblical events that distort temporal strictures, disrupting how a viewer would experience the past, present, and future. In this way, past events occur nonlinearly, foreign concepts become implicit, and eternal life no longer exists outside of time. Using queer theories of temporality and history, I explore how the Virgin Mary represents a figure of change, ambivalence, and ambiguity—an evolving symbol and image having no clearly defined referent—one who, at once, inhabits a queer temporality, history, subjectivity, and sexuality. I chart these ideas by closely …

B-Cell-Specific Mhcii Promotes Host-Microbiome Symbiosis, Mary Melissa Roland

Theses and Dissertations

Classical major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) molecules are cell surface glycoproteins that bind and present peptide antigens on the surface of antigen presenting cells (APCs). MHCII:peptide complexes engage T cell receptors (TCRs) and CD4 co-receptors thereby facilitating cognate interactions between CD4+ T cells and APCs, which is responsible for the development of antigen-specific reactions and long-lived immunity; so called TD antibody responses. This is a critical step in the host’s response to pathogens, commensals, environmental stimuli and tumors. IgA is the dominant antibody isotype secreted into the gut and it is thought that most of the IgA in the …

Tragic Relief!, Katherine Shanks

Theses and Dissertations

This poetry manuscript explores loneliness, sexuality, violence, gender/fluidity, the self, the idea of the self, and American capitalism with an irreverent and dry humor. Tragicomic in tone, the poems balance a sense of dire exuberance with personal history and anecdote ranging from sentimental to sarcastic to withering. Located in New Jersey, the manuscript engages with local history, lore, and culture. A wide range of references bridge various ends of the literary canon, while the poems likewise reach for referents from fine art, music, TV, and film. Characters recur as figures of patriarchy, capitalistic work ethic, and gender trouble in various …

Mouth Stuff, Jacob Connor Smith

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the idea of nuance in culturally oversimplified narratives, including fraught paternal relationships, sexual assault and non-consent dynamics, childhood and young adulthood LGBTQ+ experiences, and everyday life and mental health in the climate crisis. Drawing upon the 20^th century tradition of short poetry and minimalism, this thesis attempts to demonstrate the frustration of post-internet media culture’s fixation on providing a complete account of a complex issue in extremely limited linguistic space. This collection narratively demonstrates a night of insomnia, loneliness, and depression from sunset to sunrise as the speaker recalls various memories …

Reactive End Capped Polybenzimidazole Oligomers For High Temperature Thermosets And Improved Membranes For Electrochemical Devices, Caroline Marie Rohlfing

Theses and Dissertations

Polybenzimidazoles (PBI) are heterocyclic polymers that possess high thermal and oxidative stability. The inherent strength and chemical and thermal stability of PBI make it ideal for use in extreme environments; however, the current processing of PBI molded parts makes the process practically and economically unfavorable. These intrinsic properties make PBIs of particular interest for many industrial applications, varying from fabrics to membrane materials to molded parts. Processing these molded parts is extremely difficult, as the high glass transition temperature and extremely high melting point (>500°C) of PBI result in poor flow properties of PBI resins even at high temperatures. …

Piratical Transportation: Highlighting Silences In Carolina’S Enslavement And Exportation Of Native Americans, Jordan Stenger

Theses and Dissertations

When Carolina colony was established, its early financial success was inherently bound to its enslavement and exportation of countless Indigenous people in the colonial pursuit of Native land, wealth, and enslaved labor. However, given the Indian slave trade was largely illegal in Carolina, how did colonists export Indigenous people? This study seeks to expand the land-locked historiography and explore how enslaved Indigenous people appear in the historical record across the Atlantic world. Utilizing term proximity as a methodological approach in reading historical records, and privileging Carolina’s black-market trade with pirates, I propose that the trade with pirates also included enslaved …

Ciento Ochenta Grados: South Carolina Promotores De Salud And The Covid-19 Pandemic, Richard Lyle Strater

Theses and Dissertations

This research engages with promotores de salud in South Carolina to examine sustainability challenges in their work to support Hispanic and Latino communities through advocacy-as-care approaches. This thesis contributes to scholarly literature on CHWs in the United States at a time when the profession is working to legitimize itself through professional advocacy, which includes the organization of state CHW associations, regional CHW networks, and the National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW). Their work to support communities is, at times, made more difficult because of their positioning within formalized neoliberal systems of care, while also being marginalized by their lack …

Governance Of Drug Development Alliances, Devashish Chandrashekhar Thakar

Theses and Dissertations

Innovative biotechnology firms (hereafter, biotechs or biotech firms) consider drug development alliances with incumbent pharmaceutical firms (hereafter, pharmas or pharma firms) as a means to access complementary commercialization capabilities, enhance their managerial skillset through close interactions, and maintain financial stability. However, biotechs face challenges in designing and developing alliance contracts that (a) enable them to retain and refine valuable alliance assets and (b) ensure that the alliance makes tangible scientific progress. Designing contracts to achieve these dual purposes is therefore a salient concern for the biotechs.

Given these challenges, the first essay of this dissertation explores the factors driving the …

Customer Discovery And Applied Research And Development For An Environmental Nanotechnology, Paul Michael Vecchiarelli

Theses and Dissertations

Technology transfer is a process by which an innovative technology, typically produced in a non-commercial setting such as academia, is developed into a potential market opportunity. The first phase of technology transfer, once a technology has been developed, is to identify a customer segment and determine a value proposition that describes what need the technology will fulfill for them. This phase has been systematized into a framework known as customer discovery. Success in customer discovery will indicate technological gaps, such as scale-up, prototyping, and realistic testing, that are needed to deliver the value proposition to the initial customer. Both phases …

Navigating Age Of Majority-Related Issues In Special Education: The Current Needs And A Potential Means For Aligning Professional Values With Policy And Practice, Charles Blayne Walters

Theses and Dissertations

The paper that follows serves to collect three articles that investigate policy and practice regarding adult decision-making support for students with disabilities receiving special education services. Each has been led by the author of this multiple-manuscript dissertation, Charles Walters. Following a short introduction to these works as Chapter One, Chapter Two provides a reformatted version of an interview-based study with special education directors at the school district level. It was originally published in Volume 35, Issue One of the Journal of Special Education Leadership and titled “An Exploratory Study of Special Education Director Experiences with Issues Related to Age of …

Substance Use Disorder Treatment Among African American Men Living In The Rural South Of The United States, Serge Raoul Wandji

Theses and Dissertations

Substance use disorders (SUD) affect more than 40 million Americans. African American (AA) men are disproportionally affected by the negative health and social consequences of SUD, and men in rural areas may be particularly at risk due to disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions and persistent race-related stressors such as perceived discrimination. The overall purpose of this study is to advance the understanding of factors associated with SUD treatment acceptance and relapse potential among Southern rural AA men.

This purpose was achieved by determining differences in treatment acceptance and relapse potential by race and gender among rural residents admitted in a SUD treatment …

Love And Freedom, Allen Michael Hopkins

Theses and Dissertations

I have created my thesis body of work by researching children's book illustrations and distorted portraits by various artists. My illustrations are based on my book, The Adventures of Henry and Isabella: Battle of Proerable, inspired by the Disney films The Chronicles of Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, How to Build a Better Boy, and Kim Possible series. My distorted portraits of friends and family represent their personality traits. Even though the illustrations and portraits follow the style of European artists Franz Marc, Wassily Kandinsky, and Paul Klee, they are distinguished from the artists’ styles. The …