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A Comparison Of Water-Related Perceptions And Practices Among Residents Living In Colonias In West Texas And South New Mexico, Relying On Container Or Well Water, Lydia Berenice Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

In the U.S. - Mexico border region, colonia residents must cope with the lack of clean water supply and other basic sanitary services. Because of the lack of infrastructure, colonia residents rely on alternative water supplies including either private wells or hauled water stored in large above-ground containers. Little is known about residents' perceptions of their water supplies, their use practices, and how water-related use and perceptions might differ between colonia residents relying on well water or container water. The purpose of this study was to examine the water-related perceptions and practices of people living in colonias, and to …

Computationally Efficient Representation Of Statistically Described Material Microstructure For Tractable Forming Simulations, Nicholas Landry

Honors Theses and Capstones

The purpose of this project is to reduce a large statistical distribution of metal microstructure orientations to a manageable distribution to be used in metal forming simulations. Microstructure sensitive simulations at the macro-scale are impractical, because with so many state variables associated with material microstructure data, these simulations are extremely computationally expensive.

The goal was to develop a framework to accurately model plastic material response while repre- senting the material microstructure in a more compact form, reducing 106 or more microstructure orientations to a significantly smaller statistical distribution of representative orientations. This will significantly increase the computational efficiency and make …

Effects Of Electrical Pulse Stimulation On In Vitro Measurement Of Mitochondrial Content And Lipid In Human Myotubes, Daniel Alberto Conde

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

It has been previously shown that human myotubes retain certain in vivo characteristics of the donors. Furthermore, we have shown that Electrical pulse stimulation (EPS), an in vitro exercise mimetic, increases mitochondrial and lipid content in cultured human myotubes after 24 hr. of stimulation. Purpose: We aimed to examine the EPS induced adaptations to lipid, mitochondrial, and Glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) content using human myotubes. Methods: EPS was applied to myotubes for 60 min (bipolar pulses of 100 Hz, 30V, every 5 seconds), 24 hr. or 48 hr. (single bipolar pulses of 1 Hz for 2 ms; 30V) and were …

Constructing A Participatory Citizenship: Rhetoric And Agency Of The Revolutionary Association Of The Women Of Afghanistan, Lauren M. Connolly

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This project addresses the various constructions of citizenship and considers the concept of a participatory citizenship. The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) is an example of how citizenship activities are performed by a transnational feminist organization and how the members' actions contrast with the frames about Afghan women provided by the United States government and news outlets. Feminist critical discourse analysis is used to analyze texts from these groups in order to consider how citizenship is constructed and/or denied to othered women. The texts analyzed demonstrate how colonial concepts impact Afghan women and feminist rhetorical studies demonstrates …

Optimized Integrated Software Package For Classification Of Small Airway Dysfunction Using Genetic Algorithms, Elias Estrada

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Due to the similarity in the symptoms of respiratory disorders, an accurate diagnosis could be a difficult task. Regarding asthma as the main focus of this research, early detection of small airway impairment could represent a better opportunity for timely diagnosis. An integrated software package (ISP) based on the impulse oscillometry technique, has been developed to serve as an important tool for clinicians during classification of asthma severities on children [1]. The current version of the ISP was tested with data obtained during several years by Dr. Homer Nazeran and Dr. Michael Goldman from 110 Hispanic children [2], providing an …

Environmental Assessment Of Used Motor Oil In The Ciudad Juarez-El Paso Area, Alma Leticia Figueroa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As a hazardous waste generated in large amounts worldwide, used motor oil (UMO) is an important issue for environmental science. UMO contains the carcinogenic and mutagenic compounds Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). Unless properly managed and disposed of PAHs remain in the environment, principally in sediments and soil. From such environmental sinks, PAHs can migrate to watersheds contaminate drinking water, and damage ecosystems and human health.

Generators of used oil include "businesses that handle used oil through commercial or industrial operations or from the maintenance of vehicles and equipment," (United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), 2013). An example of such a …

Why Ricker Wavelets Are Successful In Processing Seismic Data: Towards A Theoretical Explanation, Afshin Gholamy Salehabady

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In many engineering applications ranging from engineering seismology to petroleum engineering and civil engineering, processing seismic data plays a key role. In processing seismic data, it turns out to be very efficient to describe the signal's spectrum as a linear combination of Ricker wavelet spectra.

In this Thesis, we provide a possible theoretical explanation for this empirical efficiency. Specifically, signal propagation through several layers is discussed, and it is shown that the Ricker wavelet is the simplest non-trivial solution for the corresponding data processing problem, under the condition that the described properties of the approximation family are satisfied.

Gadolinia Doped Hafnia (Gd2o3- Hfo2) Thermal Barrier Coatings For Gas Turbine Applications, Satya Kiran Gullapalli

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Thermal efficiency of the gas turbines is influenced by the operating temperature of the hot gas path components. The material used for the hot gas path components can only withstand temperature up to a certain limit. Thermal barrier coatings (TBC) provide the additional thermal protection for these components and help the gas turbine achieve higher firing temperatures. Traditionally available yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) TBCs have a limitation up to 1200 C due to their phase transformation. The present work focuses on gadolinia based hafnia (GSH) TBCs to study their potential to replace the YSZ coatings. Different compositions of gadolinia doped …

Family Related Attitudes And Beliefs Influencing Risk And Support Seeking Among Female Victims Of Domestic And Sexual Violence In El Paso, Texas, Diane Ilene Huerta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

To provide effective prevention and intervention strategies for victims of domestic and sexual violence, health care professionals, law enforcement responders, and service providers must adequately understand the factors that influence risk and support seeking processes among victims. More than 12 million men and women become victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking yearly, over 24 people per minute (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013). About one in four women and one in seven men have experienced severe physical intimate partner violence at some point in their life (CDC, 2013). Minority populations are at disproportionately higher risk for domestic …

Characterizing Cryogenic Propellant Flow Behavior Through A Cavitating Venturi In Comparison To Alternative Flow Control Mechanisms, Marjorie Adele Ingle

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The work detailed is an investigation of the use of a cavitating venturi as both a flow control and metering device. This was achieved through the combination of actual experimentation and numerical modeling of the fluid behavior of both liquid water and liquid methane as it passes through the test article designed, developed, and validated here within this study. The discharge coefficient of the cavitating venturi was determined through weigh flow calibration testing to determine an average mass flow rate. Turbine flow meter flow rate readings were used as a point of comparison and the discharge coefficient was computed. The …

The Talk Of Unwed Adolescent Fathers Of Mexican Origin: A Discourse Analysis, Jose Arturo Jaime

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Since the 1970s, changing family and marriage trends in the United States have led to a dramatic 41% increase in the rate of unwed parents also known as fragile families, i.e., those at high risk of living in poverty and/or disintegrating (McLanahan, Garfinkel, Mincy, & Donahue, 2013, p.3). By 2011, more than 20 million children (28%) lived in biological father-absent homes and one-fourth, or five million, of these children were Hispanic of any race (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). Recent studies suggest a clear disparity in cognitive, behavioral and health outcomes for children who live with single or cohabiting parents when …

Design Of Three Different Particle Size Distributions In Silver Paste Through Computer Simulation For Higher Electrical Conductivity, Kyungdeok Jang

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the field of printed electronics technology, researchers have tried to print highly conductive electrodes with fine width and height in order to manufacture high performance devices.

The purpose of this research is to print particle monolayer silver patterns which have better electrical conductivity than existing ones. The key idea of this experiment is to analyze silver inks with different sized particles. Let us consider a particle monolayer pattern printed with silver ink consisting of mono-sized particles. Inside of the pattern, there are some vacant spaces between the particles, which can lead to low electrical conductivity and discontinuity of the …

An Optimization Of Neighbor Discovery In Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, Felipe Jovel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Thesis aims to improve the performance of Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) that use soft-state signaling for neighbor discovery, specifically OLSR. In particular, it uses simulations and previous work based on experiments conducted on a physical test bed to study the behavior of the neighbor-discovery algorithm used by OLSR to identify and explore ways to optimize the neighbor-discovery process. Candidate optimizations include the actual and relative settings of the refresh and expiry timers used by the algorithm.

Previous studies focused on understanding how the settings of the algorithms Hello Interval (δ) and TC Interval refresh timers affect network performance …

2tl: A Raid I/O Scheduling Algorithm For Simultaneously Providing Latency And Throughput Guarantees, Yipkei Kwok

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

It is increasingly common for applications to require that data read from and written to a shared storage system be delivered within a specified amount of time (usually milliseconds), called a latency requirement, or be delivered at a specified rate (measured in megabytes per second), called a throughput requirement. Given an input/output (I/O) workload, which consists of the streams of I/O requests of a set of applications, the storage system, via its I/O scheduler, is expected to simultaneously meet the workload's latency and throughput requirements. In addition, it is expected to provide performance guarantees, i.e., guarantees that it will meet …

2014-2015 Graduate Catalog, Morehead State University

Morehead State Catalog Archive

2014-2015 graduate catalog for Morehead State University.

Barriers To Disaster Preparedness, Evacuation, And Emergency Response In The Colonias Of El Paso County, Anthony Mark Lechuga

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The colonias serve as a unique challenge to healthcare professionals and government agencies in developing programs and policies to reach these underserved communities. Minorities, persons of low socioeconomic status, and disabled or medically dependent persons are disproportionally affected by disasters. Researchers have studied several health outcomes prevalent in residents of colonias; however, barriers to disaster preparedness, evacuation, and emergency response have rarely, if ever, been studied in this population. This cross-sectional study applied the constructs of the Health Belief Model to identify common factors, barriers, and attitudes related to disaster preparedness, evacuation, disaster perceptions, and risk communication. Participants of this …

P90/Cip2a Regulates Lung Cancer Cell Proliferation And Cell Apoptosis Via The Akt Signaling Pathway, Ningjing Lei

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Cancerous inhibitor of PP2A (CIP2A) is an intracellular endogenous protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) inhibitor with oncogenic activities. Initially identified as a tumor-associated antigen (TAA) in gastric and liver cancer patients, CIP2A was overexpressed in a variety of cancer types. And the overexpression of CIP2A in cancer cell is associated with increased cell proliferation and decreased cell apoptosis. However, the mechanism of CIP2A in cancer progression is still poorly understood. Here, we reported the evidence that CIP2A can regulate AKT phosphorylation at S473 under growth factor stimulation and our results also showed that CIP2A might regulate cell proliferation and cell apoptosis …

Towards Analytical Techniques For Optimizing Knowledge Acquisition, Processing, Propagation, And Use In Cyberinfrastructure, Leonardo Octavio Lerma

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For many decades, there has been a continuous progress in science and engineering applications. A large part of this progress comes from the new knowledge that researchers acquire, propagate, and use. This new knowledge has revolutionized many aspects of our life, from driving to communications to shopping. Somewhat surprisingly, there is one area of human activity which is the least impacted by the modern technological progress: the very processes of acquiring, processing, and propagating information. When we decide where to place sensors, which algorithm to use for processing the data - we rely mostly on our own intuition and on …

2014-2015 Undergraduate Catalog, Morehead State University

Morehead State Catalog Archive

2014-2015 undergraduate catalog for Morehead State University.

Experimental Investigation Of Syngas Flame Stability Using A Multi-Tube Fuel Injector In A High Pressure Combustor, Sergio Elzar Maldonado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Over 92% of the coal consumed by power plants is used to generate electricity in the United States (U.S.). The U.S. has the world's largest recoverable reserves of coal, it is estimated that reserves of coal will last more than 200 years based in current production and demand levels. Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plants aim to reduce the amount of pollutants by gasifying coal and producing synThesis gas. SynThesis gas, also known as syngas, is a product of coal gasification and can be used in gas turbines for energy production. Syngas is primarily a mixture of hydrogen and …

Art And Hyperreality, Alfredo Martin-Perez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

My Thesis pertains to philosophy of art. Its main purpose is a reconsideration of the notion of art as a response to claims stating the end of art, as in the case of the writings on hyperreality, stating that the transformation of reality, has resulted in a world that is permeated with a virtual reality that replaces traditional schemas for ways of living in the world, that valued the originality of art.

In the setting up of the subject, I will briefly mention descriptions of both reality and hyperreality, and the developments in art throughout the modern, and post modern …

Another Colonialist Tool?, Aaron Barlow

Publications and Research

"the student enrolled in an xMOOC, I believe, is in much the same position as both the student before the teaching machine and the colonized individual. She or he is forced to deal with foreign assumptions having little to do with the reality of the learner or the colonized."

Neighbor Discovery Message Hold Times For Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, Joshua Lee Mccartney

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

We present the results of an experimental study designed to understand the impact of neighbor discovery message hold times on network performance measures for a mobile ad hoc network. A physical testbed of pseudo-mobile nodes using the OLSR routing protocol was used for our experiments. We found statistically significant evidence to suggest that setting the neighbor discovery message hold times close to the neighbor discovery message interval time results in the best overall network performance.

Super Resolution Pump-Probe Microscopy With Point Spread Function Engineering, Farzaneh Mohajerani

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Since the last decade, new techniques have made optical microscopy break the diffraction barrier of resolution where all of them are based on molecular fluorescence. Among them, stimulated emission depletion microscopy (STED) has reached less than 25 nm resolution by engineering the point spread function. However, the existing obstacles associated with fluorescence tagging makes it desirable to achieve label-free imaging. Recently the pump-probe method has made it possible to obtain image contrast from molecular absorption and vibration signatures that do not depend on fluorescence. We introduce Super Resolution Pump-Probe Microscopy (SRPPM), in which we combine both PSF engineering method and …

An Exploration Of Self-Management Support In The Context Of Palliative Nursing: A Modified Concept Analysis, Bridget Johnson, Liz Rogerson, Jurate Macijauskiene, Aurelija Blaževičienė, Patricia Cholewka

Publications and Research

Background
The role of self-management is often ambiguous, yet, it is an important area in clinical practice for palliative nurses. A clear conceptual understanding, however, of what it represents is lacking.

Method
This paper reports an analysis of the concept of self-management support in palliative nursing. Avant and Walker's method was used to guide this concept analysis. A search of electronic databases (1990–2013), use of internet search engines and supplementary hand searching produced an international data set of reviews, empirical research, editorials, protocols and guidelines.

Results
Based on the analysis self-management support in palliative nursing has been defined as assessing, …

Association Between Hepatitis C Virus Knowledge And Drug Use Risk Behaviors Among People Who Inject Drugs, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, 2012, Leah Nicole Morgan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

BACKGROUND: Needle sharing during injection drug use is the most common mode of transmission for the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) in the U.S. The scientific literature on the relationship between knowledge and risk behaviors for HCV transmission among people who inject drugs (PWID) is minimal. Evidence-based and harm reduction programs (e.g., needle exchange programs; reducing needle and works sharing) exist to reduce the risks of HCV and other blood-borne pathogens, however these programs are not widely available. Solutions to reduce HCV transmission in the general population involve changes at the individual level as well as at the policy level. On …

Design And Evaluation Of A High Temperature/Pressure Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Direct Tubular Receiver For Concentrating Solar Power Applications, Jesus Daniel Ortega

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This work focuses on the development of a solar power thermal receiver for a supercritical-carbon dioxide (sCO2), Brayton power-cycle to produce ~1 MWe. Closed-loop sCO2 Brayton cycles are being evaluated in combination with concentrating solar power to provide higher thermal-to-electric conversion efficiencies relative to conventional steam Rankine cycles. High temperatures (923 - 973 K) and pressures (20 - 25 MPa) are required in the solar receiver to achieve thermal efficiencies of ~50%, making concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies a competitive alternative to current power generation methods. In this study, the CSP receiver is required to achieve an outlet temperature of …

Public Social Network Sites And Social Recruiting, Abby Peters

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Social network sites (SNSs) are an increasingly popular form of social media used by individuals and organizations. As these platforms continue to transform the way people communicate with one another, they are simultaneously revolutionizing the way individuals interact with organizations. Part of this dramatic change is apparent in the processes by which organizations are recruiting employees and job seekers are pursuing employment. To investigate these phenomena, I employed the diffusion of innovations theory in a SNS context to examine the relationship between organizations' use of their corporate career website and their use of SNSs as recruiting sources. Subsequently, I used …

Cross-Validation Of The El Paso Risk Assessment Of Juveniles At Intake Scale (El Paso Raji), Dilata Ranadive

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

No published risk assessment instrument is designed for the specific purpose of identifying high risk first-time juvenile offenders at their first contact with the juvenile justice system. The El Paso Risk Assessment of Juveniles at Intake (El Paso RAJI) was developed by Valenzuela (2011) for this purpose. The current study had three aims: i) to assess the validity of the RAJI as a predictor of recidivism among first-time juvenile offenders, ii) to compare the predictive power of RAJI items with the predictive power of similar items from another risk assessment instrument, the Pre-Positive Achievement Change Tool (PrePACT), and iii) to …

Residential Electricity Demand In Arkansas, Ileana M. Resendez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study analyzes residential electricity demand in Arkansas. Explanatory variables utilized include real per capita income, residential electricity price, heating degree days, cooling degree days, and residential natural gas price. The results indicate that the income effect dominates the substitution effect given a real personal income increase and a decline in real electricity rates in the state of Arkansas during the period under study.