Digital Commons Network^™

Facility-Specific Radiation Exposure Risks And Their Implications For Radiation Workers At Department Of Energy Laboratories, Adam Davis

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

This research develops a new framework for evaluating the occupational risks of exposure to hazardous substances in any setting where As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) practices are mandated or used. The evaluation is performed by developing a hypothesis-test-based procedure for evaluating the homogeneity of various epidemiological cohorts, and thus the appropriateness of the application of aggregate data-pooling techniques to those cohorts. A statistical methodology is then developed as an alternative to aggregate pooling for situations in which individual cohorts show heterogeneity between them and are thus unsuitable for pooled analysis. These methods are then applied to estimate the all-cancer …

Volume Cxxxii, Number 1, September 12, 2014, Lawrence University

The Lawrentian

No abstract provided.

Material Embodiments, Queer Visualities: Presenting Disability In American Public History, Andrew B. Marcum

American Studies ETDs

This dissertation examines the presentation of disability at three of the most popular sites for the consumption of public history in the United States including the U.S. Capitol, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. I de-construct the cultural and historical narratives and discourses of disability circulating at these sites and offer a visual culture analysis of the images, artifacts, and statuary found at each of them. My study is informed principally by the theories and methods of queer disability studies, visual culture studies, and cultural studies critiques of neoliberalism. I consider how …

Strategy For The Bioconversion Of Palm Oil Mill Effluent Into Volatile Fatty Acids For The Production Of Biodegradable Polyhdroxyalkanoates / Lee Wee Shen, Wee Shen Lee

Student Works (2010-2019)

The focus of wastewater management has evolved from treatment technology into resource recovery, which permits simultaneous waste minimization and value-added product generation. This study aims to develop a strategy for the biotransformation of the highly polluting palm oil mill effluent (POME) into volatile fatty acids (VFA) for the generation of biodegradable plastics – polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). The influence of solids retention time (SRT; infinite SRT, 9 d and 6 d) and temperature (30°C, 40°C and 55°C) on the production of VFA by acidogenic fermentation of POME was first investigated. Performing acidogenic fermentation at infinite SRT resulted in gradual loss of acidogenic …

September 12, 2014, The Dakota Student

The Dakota Student

No abstract provided.

Virus Sharing, Genetic Sequencing, And Global Health Security, Lawrence O. Gostin, Alexandra Phelan, Michael A. Stoto, John D. Kraemer, K. Srinath Reddy

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The WHO’s Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework was a milestone global agreement designed to promote the international sharing of biological samples to develop vaccines, while that ensuring poorer countries would have access to those vaccines. Since the PIP Framework was negotiated, scientists have developed the capacity to use genetic sequencing data (GSD) to develop synthetic viruses rapidly for product development of life-saving technologies in a time-sensitive global emergency—threatening to unravel the Framework. Access to GSD may also have major implications for biosecurity, biosafety, and intellectual property (IP).

By rendering the physical transfer of viruses antiquated, GSD may also undermine the …

Development Of Novel Small Molecules For Imaging And Drug Release, Yanting Cao

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Small organic molecules, including small molecule based fluorescent probes, small molecule based drugs or prodrugs, and smart multifunctional fluorescent drug delivery systems play important roles in biological research, drug discovery, and clinical practices. Despite the significant progress made in these fields, the development of novel and diverse small molecules is needed to meet various demands for research and clinical applications. My Ph.D study focuses on the development of novel functional molecules for recognition, imaging and drug release. In the first part, a turn-on fluorescent probe is developed for the detection of intracellular adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) levels based on multiplexing recognitions. Considering …

Stable Solar Cells Through Controlled Block Copolymer Self-Assembly And Cooperative Hydrogen Bonding Interactions, Fei Li

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Current state-of-the-art polymer solar cells adopt the bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) morphologies where the electron donors (i.e. conjugated polymer) and electron acceptors (i.e. fullerenes) as active layers are mixed in an intimate way. The phase separation that modulates the exciton diffusion and charge transport in the current BHJ morphology is an uncontrolled process and thus results in random domain sizes of the polymer/fullerene blend. In addition, the polymer and fullerenes in the blend are intrinsically two immiscible materials and they tend to undergo macrophase separation eventually, which leads to deteriorated device performance. One way to address the abovementioned issues is to attach …

Community Analysis Of A Unique Full-Scale Wastewater Treatment Plant As Revealed By 454-Pyrosequencing, Meghan Preut

Civil Engineering ETDs

Activated sludge is one of the most commonly applied biological treatment processes for wastewater treatment. The microorganisms grown in activated sludge systems are responsible for the removal and transformation of wastewater contaminants. These bacterial populations are sensitive to wastewater characteristics, plant design and operational parameters. Because the effectiveness of activated sludge relies on microbial activity, a better understanding of the microbial communities and how they respond to constraints may be useful for improving plant performance. Environmental conditions in the activated sludge process are complex and the identification and classification of the communities present has proven a challenge for engineers as …

Evolution And Characterization Of A New Reversibly Photoswitchable Chromoprotein, Patricia Langan

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

We report the molecular engineering and spectral characterization of a new reversibly photoswitchable chromoprotein, B11 a variant of thermostable green protein (TGP) that has been evolved for favorable solubility, thermostability, and enhanced crystallization properties. Its 2.5 \xc5 joint X-ray and neutron structure shows the location of critical hydrogen atoms, and reveals the position, orientation, and protonation states of solvent molecules in the chromophore and surrounding amino acids, which have not been ascertained to date from current X-ray structures. We report 1.65 \xc5 ground state and light-induced state X-ray crystal structures of B11, which differs from TGP by four amino acids …

Bayesian Estimators, Error Bounds, And Applications To Imaging, Srikanth Narravula

Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

In a communication system, a signal carrying information about a physical variable, or parameter, is fed into the front end of a channel and noisy or corrupted data are obtained at its back end, data from which one attempts to estimate the physical parameter. The error that accompanies such an estimate is usually characterized by mean squared error (MSE). In a Bayesian setting, the minimum value of the MSE is obtained by the so-called MMSE estimator (MMSEE), which in this sense is the best possible estimator. In general, the MMSE as well as the MMSEE are difficult to compute, which …

Theoretical Studies Of Transition Metal Catalysis, Ryan S. Johnson

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Transition metal catalysis, being critical to nearly all aspects of the modern industrial world, is the focus of a series of theoretical studies which seek to elucidate the fundamental and electronic origins of enhanced chemical activity and selectivity. The application of density functional theory on extended single metal and alloyed surfaces, supported single metal atoms, and gas phase cationic species illuminate various aspects of transition metal catalysis in a wide range of enviornments. Adsorption, reactivity, and other mechanistic details developed here suggest possible mechanisms used to aid interpretation of experimental results and guide developement of future catalysts.

Stigmatization And The Re-Articulation Of Eugenic Ideology: A Study Of Coded Racism In Family Planning Policy From The 1920s To The 1990s, Michael Muhammad

Sociology ETDs

This study investigates the use of coded racism in the evolution of fertility control policies from the 1920s to the 1990s. I propose a theory of welfare eugenics that explains stigmatization of the fertility of poor, racial and ethnic minorities through a re-articulation of overtly racist language in terms of cultural symbols, stereotypes, and labels referred to as coded racism. I conduct a discourse analysis of scientific papers presented at the Third International Congress of Eugenics in 1932, and witness testimony from congressional hearings held in the 1920s, 1965 — 1966, and 1995 — 1996 for evidence of eugenic ideology …

Animal People, Sabrina Golmassian

English Language and Literature ETDs

Billions of animals are killed every year based on this ethical premise: Animals are lower than humans on some abstract moral scale, and they can therefore be considered property. However, a growing percentage of compassionate and educated animal lovers and advocates reject that premise. Its now possible to live comfortably and happily without subjecting animals to fear, pain, and stress for non-essential products. Whether it be food, clothing, scientific experiment, or entertainment, alternatives now exist to take their place. A broad range of investigative journalism and scholarship have exposed the detrimental effects of the use of animals for industry. An …

How Do Peer Mentors Impact College Students In Undergraduate Gateway Courses At A Large Public University?, Jennifer Gomez-Chavez

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Peer mentoring is a growing trend utilized to improve graduation and retention rates of college students across campuses. It is a strategy being used either outside or inside the classroom to assist students with learning, connecting to resources, and increasing student success in gateway courses. Southwest State University is an example of an institution, initially funded through a Title V grant, using peer mentoring in gateway courses. Peer mentors are placed in high failing gateway courses such as the ones chosen for this study to include Earth and Planetary Science 101, Chemistry 121, and Math 121. Gateway courses are defined …

Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles As Guardian Against Environmental Carcinogen Benzo[Alpha]Pyrene, Anupam Dhasmana, Qazi Mohammad Sajid Jamal, Snober Shabnam Mir, Madan Lal Bramha Bhatt, Qamar Rahman, Richa Gupta, Mohd. Haris Siddiqui, Mohtashim Lohani

School of Medicine Publications

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), like Benzo[alpha]Pyrene (BaP) are known to cause a number of toxic manifestations including lung cancer. As Titanium dioxide Nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) have recently been shown to adsorb a number of PAHs from soil and water, we investigated whether TiO2 NPs could provide protection against the BaP induced toxicity in biological system. A549 cells when co-exposed with BaP (25 mM, 50 mM and 75 mM) along with 0.1 mg/ml,0.5 mg/ml and 1 mg/ml of TiO2 NPs, showed significant reduction in the toxic effects of BaP, as measured by Micronucleus Assay, MTT Assay and ROS Assay. In order …

Integration Of Cdse/Zns Quantum Dots Into As-Induced Etched Nanovoids On Gasb, Shayla Nahar Bhuiya

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Quantum dots, due to their small size, portray unique optical properties that are different compared to those of the bulk material. The most apparent of these properties is the excitation of these dots, resulting in emission of photons, which are visible to the human eye as light. More interestingly, the wavelength of these photon emissions does not solely depend on the type of material from which the quantum dot is made; in addition, it depends on the size of the quantum dots. The dots can also be tuned accordingly to emit into the UV or into the infra-red. The colloidal …

Spatial Stochastic Modeling Of The Erbb Receptor Family, Meghan Pryor

Chemical and Biological Engineering ETDs

ErbB transmembrane receptors are a family of 4 receptor tyrosine kinases that interact with one another through homo and heterodimer interactions. When these dimers form, the kinase domains on the receptor tails interact with one another, transphosphorylating one another, initiating a signal cascade. The signaling pathways these receptors participate in are responsible for many different cell functions including apoptosis, growth, and proliferation. The overexpression of these receptors has been linked to various forms of cancer, emphasizing the importance of understanding how these receptors interact with one another to trigger these cascades. Single Particle Tracking experiments have provided more precise and …

Exploring Adolescent Reproductive Health Knowledge, Perceptions, And Behavior, Among Students Of Non-Government Secondary Schools Supported By Brac Mentoring Program In Rural Bangladesh, Bachera Aktar, Malabika Sarker, Andrew Jenkins

Journal of Asian Midwives (JAM)

Adolescence is the transition period from childhood to adulthood. Since Bangladesh is such a conservative society, reproductive health education for adolescents has not been widely introduced. Very small adolescent health components are included in the secondary and higher secondary school curricula. The BRAC Mentoring Program provides mentorship training to secondary school pupils to develop them as peer leaders. However, this program does not provide adolescent reproductive health education. Therefore, a study, supported by BRAC Education Program in rural Bangladesh, was conducted to explore the current status of reproductive health knowledge, perceptions and practice among the students of secondary schools. This …

Dart-Ms Analysis Of Historic Tobacco Pipes To Investigate The Preservation Of Nicotine Residues, Sylvia A. Torres

McNair Scholars Research Journal

Direct analysis in real time (DART) mass spectrometry has potential for rapid characterization of residues in and on archaeological materials, often without the need for extraction and sample preparation. These residues may provide insight into people’s behavior in the ancient past, including what they ate and drank and what plants they used. Residues change over time through oxidation, loss of water-soluble components during washing, and contamination from burial and handling. We are investigating how nicotine residues in historic smoking pipes from Historic St. Mary’s City, Maryland, have changed through time. To understand how residues change as they age and decompose, …

Examining Undergraduate Attitudes Towards Bisexuality And Bisexual Individuals, Charae A. London-Terry

McNair Scholars Research Journal

Despite the great strides that the Lesbian and Gay (LG) community has made in the last four decades, bisexual individuals still “report a lack of validation, isolation and ostracism within both the heterosexual and homosexual communities” (Israel & Mohr, 2004, p. 119). This study focuses on undergraduate students’ attitudes towards bisexuality and bisexual individuals at Eastern Michigan University by testing the hypothesis that homosexual and heterosexual students will have a significant bias towards bisexual persons, and that male students will demonstrate bias towards bisexual persons, regardless of their own sexual orientation. The survey instrument was an 18-item questionnaire revised from …

Examining Neural Synchrony In Autism During Resting State With Magnetoencephalography (Meg), Tyronda D. Smith

McNair Scholars Research Journal

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) comprises a group of neurodevelopmental disorders associated with the functioning of the central nervous system (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The symptoms experienced by individuals with this disorder include social impairment, communication difficulties, and repetitive and stereotyped behaviors. The etiology of ASD has yet to be determined, and it is typically diagnosed based on behavioral criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual- 5th Edition (DSM-5; APA, 2013) and confirmed with “gold standard” assessment tools such as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and Autism Diagnostic Interview- Revised (ADI-R; Johnson Center for Child Health Development, 2014). Abnormalities in …

Innovative Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention-Intervention For African-American Adolescent Girls, Brialle D. Ringer

McNair Scholars Research Journal

The purpose of this study is to determine whether implementation of an innovative STI prevention intervention design affects participants’ knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and sexual self-efficacy. The population this research focuses on is African-American adolescent girls. The participants included in this study are aged 13-19. This particular population is disproportionately infected by sexually transmitted diseases, so it is vital that intervention programs be tailored to fit their culture and gender-specific needs in order to achieve maximum results. However, current interventions for African-American girls could be improved. The researcher has designed an innovative STI prevention intervention that draws from current, …

Evaluating The Relationship Between Malignant Self-Regard And Achievement Striving, Carly D. Evich

McNair Scholars Research Journal

Clinical psychological research has identified an empirical and theoretical overlap among Masochistic (also known as Self-Defeating), Depressive, and Vulnerably Narcissistic forms of personality pathology. Together, these personalities have been found to possess many overlapping characteristics, which are proposed to be described through the Malignant Self- Regard personality construct (MSR; Huprich, in press). MSR is characterized by self-criticism, perfectionistic tendencies, frequent depression, desires for interrelatedness, feelings of inadequacy, shame, guilt, hypersensitivity to criticism, self-defeating actions, pessimism, and poor anger management. MSR captures the mind’s self-destructive attack on one’s sense of self, which signals concern about how the “self” is …

To Comply Or Not To Comply? Brazil's Relationship With The Hague Convention On The Civil Aspects Of International Child Abduction, Amanda M. Waide

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: The Central American Free Trade Agreement And The Environment, Nathaniel Hemmerick Hunt

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

No Worldwide Consensus: The United Nations Declaration On Human Cloning, Channah Jarrell

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Sad Stories: Trafficking In Children - Unique Situations Requiring New Solutions, Virginia Garrard

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Shame, Rage And Freedom Of Speech: Should The United States Adopt European "Mobbing" Laws?, Brady Coleman

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Fierce Green Fire: Vol 5 Issue 2, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.