Digital Commons Network^™

Application Of Method Developed For The Identification And Quantification Of Polar Components In Organic Liquid Products Of Selected Crop Oils And Deciphering The Mechanistic Aspects Of Cracking, Ashwini Geetla

Theses and Dissertations

Pyrolysis is a fundamental thermochemical process that can be used to convert triacylglycerides (TGs) in crop oils into valuable chemicals that may replace petroleum products. Biofuels, complex mixtures containing hundreds of species, are generated by the pyrolysis of crop oils. Presence of fatty acids (FAs) will limit the applicability of plant oils as biofuels since they are corrosive and form wax-like crystals at a cloud point that would plug filters. However, short chain FAs have a high commercial value as byproducts of biofuel production. The understanding of mechanism of pyrolysis may reveal pathways for production of favorable products. These pathways …

Predicting Motivation, Exercise Behavior And The Reciprocal Relationship With Obesity Perceptions In College Students, Kylee Jo Heston

Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is an increasing problem worldwide, often described as an epidemic. Approximately 70% of men and women nationwide are overweight and/or obese, with roughly 34% meeting criteria for obesity. Women are increasing obesity rates faster than men and more women than men are currently obese nationwide and worldwide. Obesity leads to numerous physical, psychological, and social consequences and often a poor quality of life. Women are at risk for increased health complications, and college in particular has been associated with weight gain. Improper energy balance is a significant contributor. Achieving adequate exercise each week has been proven effective in obesity …

Using Reanalysis Data For The Prediction Of Seasonal Wind Turbine Power Losses Due To Icing, Daniel Burtch

Theses and Dissertations

The Northern Plains region of the United States is home to a significant amount of potential wind energy. However, in winter months capturing this potential power is severely impacted by the meteorological conditions, in the form of icing. Predicting the expected loss in power production due to icing is a valuable parameter that can be used in wind turbine operations, determination of wind turbine site locations and long-term energy estimates which are used for financing purposes. Currently, losses due to icing must be estimated when developing predictions for turbine feasibility and financing studies, while icing maps, a tool commonly used …

A Feasibility Study On The Implementation Of Satellite-To-Satellite Tracking Around A Small Near-Earth Object, Christopher Joseph Church

Theses and Dissertations

Near-earth objects (NEOs) are asteroids and comets that have a perihelion distance of less than 1.3 astronomical units (AU). There are currently more than 10,000 known NEOs. The majority of these objects are less than 1 km in diameter. Despite the number of NEOs, little is known about most of them. Characterizing these objects is a crucial component in developing a thorough understanding of solar system evolution, human exploration, exploitation of asteroid resources, and threat mitigation. Of particular interest is characterizing the internal structure of NEOs. While ground-based methods exist for characterizing the internal structure of NEOs, the information that …

The Association Between Autobiographical Memory Specificity And Memory Sharing In College Students, Nicola Herting

Theses and Dissertations

The way in which memories are stored and communicated makes the construction of autobiographical memories (AM) both an internal process and a social occurrence. Strong associations between reduced AM specificity and psychological adjustment have been found; however, the role significant others have in the socialization and co-construction of AM may have be overlooked. This study examines whether the process of sharing AMs and the perceived benefits of sharing these memories are associated with differences in specificity of AM, as well as explores methodological differences in how AMs are collected. Data from 177 participants was collected on the Most Important Memories …

The Effects Of Whole Body Vibrations On Salivary Cortisol In Young Females In Squat Position, Rohini Gawande

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Despite the catabolic effect of cortisol on bone metabolism, and the potentially counteracting anabolic effect of whole body vibration (WBV) on bone, only a few studies have explored the effects of WBV on cortisol, the findings of which have

been inconclusive. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an acute bout of WBV on salivary cortisol levels in women. Method: This study utilized a randomized cross-over design, consisting of two individual treatment days: the vibration

intervention (V) and the non-vibration control (NV), with a washout period of 2-3 days between the two. Participants consisted …

Deflating Rural North Dakota: Mechanization, Industrialization, And Depopulation In The Small Community, Alyson Leas

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis serves to examine the continued decline of population in rural North Dakota. In the face of a large oil boom in the state's western third, agricultural communities in the central third of the state continue to struggle. Through an examination of United States Department of Agriculture yearly agricultural censuses, experiment station notes, personal correspondence, local histories, and the United States decennial census from the first fifty years of the twentieth century, information regarding the rise and fall of communities in northern Towner County, North Dakota, has been tabulated. Results show that the better agriculture did in terms of …

Teaching Vocabulary Through Weekly Spelling Lessons: An Efficacy Study, Elizabeth Lindsey

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, research has proved that vocabulary knowledge is highly correlated with reading comprehension and academic success. Despite the importance of vocabulary instruction, teachers are lacking a cohesive approach. Teachers are concerned about the quality and quantity of vocabulary instruction in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to determine if students in the Grand Forks Public Schools were learning their vocabulary words through indirect instruction using the Scott Foresman's Reading Street program. Twenty-seven fourth grade students were given clinical vocabulary assessments, as well as a researcher-designed assessment to determine percentage of vocabulary words known. Results indicated that …

Defining Western Prairie Fringed Orchid (Platanthera Praeclara) Habitat, Michael David Knudson

Theses and Dissertations

Terrestrial orchids are at the forefront of the discussion about anthropogenically-driven extinction with more species threatened globally than any other plant family, mostly because of loss of habitat. The Western Prairie Fringed Orchid (Platanthera praeclara) is a threatened species found on the Sheyenne National Grassland in southeast North Dakota, USA. This conservation area that is a vital refuge for this species is subject to management for multiple uses including livestock grazing and recreation. Orchids are subject to continuous monitoring, but knowledge of the relationship between landscape indicators and orchid locations is limited. Research is needed to provide a greater understanding …

Space Tourism Law: Lessons From Aviation, Antarctica, And The International Space Station, Denise Meeks

Theses and Dissertations

Space tourism has economic, social, and educational benefits, however, unresolved legal issues remain that need to be addressed on state and international levels in order for space tourism to succeed and for these benefits to be realized. Space treaties do not address and federal laws have impeded space tourism efforts. Aviation industry regulations, Antarctic treaties, and International Space Station agreements serve as models to guide the space tourism. In the future, however, the space tourism industry will create its own legal regime based on the technical expertise of its practitioners and the social mores of its participants.

Climate Change Detection And Attribution Using Gps Radio Occultation And Cmip5 Gcm Data, Sergey Molodtsov

Theses and Dissertations

General circulation models (GCMs) show a distinct anthropogenic fingerprint - the thermal expansion of Hadley Cell. This response to the increase of atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) is evident under a variety of forcing scenarios. However the investigation of the anthropogenic signal in the real climate system is challenging because anthropogenic signal is immersed in the natural variability and it requires highly quality data to separate signal from background variability. GPS Radio Occultation (GPS RO) technique becomes close to meeting all of the quality requirements, enabling it to become the benchmark for the climate data. The analysis was implemented …

A Study Of Bench Scale, Pressurized, Continuous Flow Thermal Cracking Of Crop Oil, Blake Sander

Theses and Dissertations

This study builds upon previous research at UND which demonstrated that crop oils are a potential renewable alternative to select petroleum based products. The crop oils investigated for this study include soybean, canola, and jojoba oil. The processing method utilized was a non-catalytic cracking process.

The goal of this work was to build a new bench-scale continuous flow thermal cracking reactor system capable of being operated under high pressure, and also to use this reactor to explore the effects of pressure, temperature, and feed rate during non-catalytic cracking on the yield and composition of the liquid and gas products produced …

Relational Maintenance Behaviors, Conflict Resolution Strategies, And Their Relation To Loneliness, Courtney O'Brien

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the relationship between levels of ineffective arguing and loneliness above and beyond levels of relational maintenance behaviors in 182 male and female adults. Correlations did not support a large inverse relationship between loneliness and relational maintenance behaviors for both Romantic Partner Group (RPG) and Friendship Group (FG). This study has shown that there was a moderate relationship between levels of loneliness and relational maintenance behaviors for both groups. As hypothesized, but only for the RPG, regression analyses revealed that ineffective arguing did predict experiences of loneliness above and beyond relational maintenance behaviors only, whereas this was …

"You Do Understand This Is Potentially Career Threatening?" A Study Of Public School Principals Who Have Guided Teachers To A Voluntary Exit, Barry Donavon Lentz

Theses and Dissertations

Many people believe that teachers in public education cannot be dismissed. Teachers can be dismissed, but it is a difficult and stressful process. However, some principals are able to guide teachers to voluntarily exit a school system without going through the dismissal process. The literature suggests that many principals believe there are many impediments when attempting to remove a teacher deemed less than competent. This qualitative study examined what successful principals do to remove teachers who have not met a minimum competency according to district expectations. Ten North Dakota principals, who have successfully guided teachers out of a school system …

Analysis Of Multi-Platform Mobile Application Development, Courtney B. Thaden

Theses and Dissertations

The variety of mobile devices and their operating platforms has rapidly increased. With this increase come separate standards, programming languages, and distribution markets. Typically developers want to deliver their products to a variety of users encompassing various platforms; however choosing to develop using a native program for a platform can delay the development and release on another platform. Multi-platform development applications were created in order to deploy applications to various platforms in a more timely and cost efficient manner by using a single code base.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the multi-platform development applications MoSync, Appcelerator, and …

A Comparison Of Food Accessibility From 2002 To 2012 In St. Paul, Minnesota, Brett Sergenian

Theses and Dissertations

This study compared the changes in the healthy food accessibility landscape of St. Paul from 2002 to 2012. Food deserts are areas of limited or no accessibility to healthy food options. Local food landscapes in the U.S. and Canada have changed significantly over the past 50 years as many supermarkets have relocated out of the inner cities and into the suburbs. As a result, many inner city neighborhoods no longer have adequate access to healthy food. Despite supermarkets relocating out of the inner city, small and mid-sized grocers could stock healthy food options. The research questions answered are: Where are …

Study Of The Suit Inflation Effect On Crew Safety During Landing Using A Full-Pressure Iva Suit For New-Generation Reentry Space Vehicles, Suzuki Wataru

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, manned space capsules have been recognized as beneficial and reasonable human space vehicles again. The Dragon capsule already achieved several significant successes. The Orion capsule is going to be sent to a high-apogee orbit without crews for experimental purposes in September 2014. For such human-rated space capsules, the study of acceleration impacts against the human body during splashdown is essential to ensure the safety of crews. Moreover, it is also known that wearing a full pressure rescue suit significantly increases safety of a crew, compared to wearing a partial pressure suit. This is mainly because it enables the use …

Effect Of Sedentary And Physical Activities On Children's Food Choice, Allison Michelle Barry

Theses and Dissertations

Background: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 17% of children are obese. Children who are overweight or obese are more likely to become overweight adults. Children's snack choice has shifted from healthy to unhealthy (primarily salty and sweet option), and since children's snack consumption makes up 27% of their total energy intake, it is important to understand influences of their snack choice.

Purpose: To examine the effect of sedentary and physical activities on children's food choice.

Method: Participants included a volunteer sample of children (n=24) ranging from 9-13 years old. Children's height and weight were …

Actualizing The Seventh Generation Prophecy In Teacher Education: A Case Study Of Preparing Teachers At A Tribal College, Lisa Jo Azure

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to conduct a descriptive analysis of a teacher education professional educator licensure program for American Indian pre-service teachers at a tribal college. The professional educator was generally defined as one who completed a state-approved teacher education program and met state licensure requirements, including standardized testing requirements. The case study describes the context of a tribal college teacher education program and the dimensions of the program. Included are an analysis of documents, processes, and, most important, perspectives from the program graduates of the dimensions that contributed to their successful completion of the program, and …

The Structures, Mass Motions And Footpoints Of Solar Filaments, Aparna Venkataramanasastry

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on identifying the mechanism by which solar filaments acquire mass. Some of the speculations for how a filament gets its mass are 1) injection of mass from the chromosphere into the filament structure, and 2) condensation of mass from the corona into the region of the filament channel. Mass motion at the footpoints of the filaments is studied to detect mass entering and leaving the filament body. The magnetic properties of the footpoints of the filaments are also studied. Recommendations are drawn by comparing observational properties obtained in this study with the features used in some of …

Panic Development Mechanisms And Preventive Methods Analysis, Inga Wuerges

Theses and Dissertations

Panic Development (PD) is one of the most important areas of Human Factors research due to its debilitating effects during high stress operating conditions in extreme environments. High levels of anxiety and panic evoke incidents that are a real threat to mission success and may result in fatalities. A delicate balance of crew selection, training, and systems' design is critical for mission success and human survival.

This research investigates possible panic development profiles and methods for preventing panic through realistic training. This research focuses on realistic training scenarios during the intense military flying exercise Red-Flag Alaska at Eielson AFB, AK. …

Investigating The Effects Of Ocean Bubbles On Enhanced Aqua-Modis Aerosol Optical Depth Retrievals In The Mid-To-High Latitude Southern Oceans, Matt Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

While satellite remote sensing aerosol measurements are widely used for climate, visibility and air quality studies, issues exist in the current satellite aerosol products such as the Elevated Southern Oceans Anomaly (ESOA) phenomenon. The ESOA is an elevated aerosol optical depth (AOD) belt over high latitude southern oceans detected by passive satellites such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR). The ESOA feature, however, is not present in the ground based studies. Cloud contamination was found to have a significant impact on this anomaly, but it is not the only contributor. Wind generated ocean bubbles …

The Self-Objectification Scale: A New Measure For Assessing Self-Objectification, Sarah Dahl

Theses and Dissertations

Many of the measures for self-objectification have theoretical or psychometric issues related to their use. For this reason, the development of a new measure addressing these concerns would be beneficial to the research on self-objectification. Towards this goal of developing and validating a new measure for self-objectification, the Self-Objectification Scale (SOS) was developed. The Self-Objectification Scale is the first scale to be created with two alternative forms for measuring trait and state self-objectification that have undergone analyses for reliability and validity with both men and women. A pilot study of 40 undergraduate men and women was conducted to check the …

Attachment Sites Of Irreversible Cocaine Analogs On The Dopamine Transporter, Rejwi Acharya Dahal

Theses and Dissertations

The dopamine transporter (DAT) is an integral membrane protein that reuptakes dopamine (DA) from the extracellular space into the presynaptic neuron. DAT regulates dopaminergic neurotransmission as it maintains homeostatic synaptic DA levels in the brain. Psychostimulants such as cocaine disrupt DA homeostasis as it binds to DAT and prevents reuptake of DA. Excess DA in the synapse leads to prolonged dopaminergic neurotransmission, which is associated with cocaine related euphoria often leading to addiction.

The DAT consists of 12 transmembrane domains (TMs) with N- and C-termini facing the cytoplasm. TMs 1, 3, 6, and 8 make up the core of the …

Trauma Experiences And Symptoms Reported By American Indian And Caucasian Sex Offenders, Regina Sioux Ertz

Theses and Dissertations

American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) people are known to have a history of man-made trauma that corresponds to the colonization of the Americans. Trauma experienced by AI/AN sex offenders has not been evaluated in the research as it relates to their treatment planning. The lack of data reflecting intervention needs for AI/AN sex offenders is problematic. The current study hypothesized that American Indian sex offenders would report a greater number of trauma experiences, endorse increased symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), display more traumatic cognitions, and endorse higher dissociative experiences than Caucasian sex offenders. Statistical results yielded did not support the …

Affect Dysregulation As A Mediator Of The Relationship Between Childhood Trauma And Comorbid Substance Use Disorder And Bulimia Nervosa, Brianna Joelle Crawford

Theses and Dissertations

Eating disorders are serious, potentially life-threatening psychiatric disorders associated with a variety of negative medical, social, and psychological consequences. Comorbid mental disorders, such as substance use disorders, present an increasingly complex clinical picture. A significant body of research has been devoted to investigating the etiology of eating disorders and their comorbid conditions. One factor that has received research attention is that of childhood trauma experiences. Childhood trauma has been related to the development of both bulimia nervosa and substance use disorders, and more broadly, an impulsive, behaviorally dysregulated trajectory. Affect dysregulation is one factor proposed to play a role in …

Development And Applications Of Gold-Silica Nanohybrids For Bioanalysis, Jiao Chen

Theses and Dissertations

In the first project, both non-spherical and spherical silica nanomateirals with hollow interiors were synthesized by a one-step soft-templating method. By simply changing the applied solvent from ethanol to 1-propanol, or 1-pentanol, three different shapes of nanomaterials, including nanosphere, nanowire, and nanotadpole, could be obtained, respectively. The effects of other factors on morphology were also systematically studied to propose a growth mechanism. It was found that the PVP-water droplet was the crucial factor on the formation of hollow interiors. Without the addition of PVP, only solid silica nanomaterials, such as solid nanoparticles, nanorods, and nanowires, were synthesized. This developed method …

Does Religion Affect Attitudes Towards Same-Sex Marriage?, Marc Anthony Franczak

Theses and Dissertations

Previous scholarship suggests that religion tends to play a role in people's attitudes towards same-sex marriage. The purpose of this study is to examine whether four aspect of religion (church attendance, church affiliation, religiosity, and conflict between religious beliefs and homosexuality) play a role in shaping attitudes towards same-sex marriage. Data from the Pew Research Centers 2013 Political Survey were utilized (N = 1504), and OLS regressions were used to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that conflict between religious beliefs and homosexuality was the strongest predictor of unfavorable attitudes towards same-sex marriage. It was also found that compared to …

Evaluation Of Cmip5 Simulated Clouds And Toa Radiation Budgets Using Nasa Satellite Observations, Erica Kay Dolinar

Theses and Dissertations

A large degree of uncertainty in global climate models (GCMs) can be attributed to the representation of clouds and how they interact with incoming solar and outgoing longwave (Earth emitted) radiation. In this study, the simulated total cloud fraction (CF), cloud water path (CWP), top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiation budgets and cloud radiative forcings (CRFs) from 28 CMIP5 AMIP models are evaluated and compared to multiple satellite observations from CERES, MODIS, ISCCP, CloudSat, and CALIPSO. The multimodel ensemble mean CF (58.6 %) is, on global average, under estimated by nearly 7 % compared to CERES-MODIS (CM) and ISCCP results, with an even …

Channel Estimation And Correction Methods For Ofdma Based Lte Downlink System, Zahirul Islam

Theses and Dissertations

In present era, cellular communication plays a vital role for communicating over long distance. The number of mobile subscribers is increasing tremendously day by day. 3GPP LTE is the evolution of the UMTS in response to ever-increasing demands for high quality multimedia services according to users' expectations. The average data consumption exceeds hundreds of Megabytes per subscriber per month. To introduce, summarize and get acquainted with this new technology LTE is one of the main objectives of my thesis.

The Downlink is always considered an important factor in terms of coverage and capacity aspects in between Downlink and Uplink factors …