Digital Commons Network^™

Biophysical Vulnerability Impact Assessment Of Climate Change On Aquaculture Sector Development In Sarawak, Malaysia, Rosita Hamdan, Fatimah Kari, Azmah Othman

DLSU Business & Economics Review

This study is an assessment of the impact of climate change on the biophysical vulnerability of aquaculture production in Sarawak. The relationship between change in risk factors with the total aquaculture production and farmer’s income is identified. It utilizes data from the survey done on 249 aquaculture farmers in Sarawak, as well as secondary data gathered from various government reports. The multiple linear regressions results verify that the mean minimum temperature has a positive significant effect on freshwater ponds, while relative humidity has a negative significant effect on brackish water ponds. The total aquaculture area has a positive significant effect …

Trade Policy Implications On Food Security In Rice And Maize In Kenya And The Philippines, Chris Simon Sitienei Kipkorir, Marites Khanser

DLSU Business & Economics Review

The research is a study on trade policy implications on food security in rice and maize in Kenya and the Philippines. It covers, globalization as embodied by the East African Community and ASEAN region, trade and agricultural trade policies, agricultural development and factors of production regarding rice and maize. The purpose of the study is to determine implication of trade and trade policy model on food security, state of production and consumption on rice and maize. We also try to determine if there is no significant correlation between the factors of production concerning rice and maize. The study is a …

Public Interest In The Digital Age: Towards A 21st Century Spectrum Policy, John H. Cook

Colorado Technology Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Moore's Law, Metcalfe's Law, And The Theory Of Optimal Interoperability, Christopher S. Yoo

Colorado Technology Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Mathematical Investigation Of The Drivers Of Lyme Disease Ecology At Two Ecologically Contrasting Sites, Malia Joy Carpio

Public Health Theses

INTRODUCTION: Lyme disease is an emerging tick-borne disease of increasing concern in the United States. In order to create and to implement effective public health interventions for Lyme disease, there must be a better understanding of the factors driving pathogen transmission.

OBJECTIVES: The primary objectives of this study were to determine how presence/absence of “super-spreaders” and observed differences between two ecologically contrasting sites influence Borrelia burgdorferi transmission.

METHODS: A next generation matrix R0 model was parameterized with field data from an island site (Block Island, Rhode Island) and a mainland site (Connecticut) in order to generate R0 estimates. A local …

A Friendly Introduction To Mathematical Logic, Christopher C. Leary, Lars Kristiansen

Geneseo Authors

At the intersection of mathematics, computer science, and philosophy, mathematical logic examines the power and limitations of formal mathematical thinking. In this expansion of Leary’s user-friendly 1st edition, readers with no previous study in the field are introduced to the basics of model theory, proof theory, and computability theory. The text is designed to be used either in an upper division undergraduate classroom, or for self study. Updating the 1st Edition’s treatment of languages, structures, and deductions, leading to rigorous proofs of Gödel’s First and Second Incompleteness Theorems, the expanded 2nd Edition includes a new introduction to incompleteness through computability …

Bayesian Spatial Modeling Of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Transmission In The United States, Samantha Emanuele

Public Health Theses

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common virus infecting the respiratory system and can cause severe disease in vulnerable populations. It has been shown that the RSV epidemic in the United States is seasonal, peaking in late fall in Florida and a few months later in the upper Midwest. Although a seasonal trend has been described, it is still unclear if there are any spatial trends between states. For this paper, RSV laboratory data from the continental United States was used to model the transmission dynamics of RSV in each state. We conducted an explanatory analysis to investigate the presence …

The Pura Belpré Award And The Portrayal Of Disability, Zoe Houser

Honors Program Theses

The Pura Belpré Award is one of the lesser known literary awards. Because other literary awards have been around longer and received a large amount of attention, there has been much research done over the other literary awards, including how the award books portray disabled characters within their pages. However, there is a lack of research about the portrayal of disability in books that have been awarded or honored by the Pura Belpré Award.

This paper will address the question of how many Pura Belpré Award winning books include prominent characters with disabilities and if they are portrayed positively or …

Investigating Educational Quality At One Comprehensive University, Blake Thurston Findley

Honors Program Theses

President Obama has called for increased access to higher education and simultaneously wants greater educational quality from our colleges and universities. Comprehensive universities in particular, due to their high enrollment of underserved populations, need to ensure they are providing the highest quality education possible. The current study investigated educational quality at a comprehensive university by examining research-supported behaviors related to educational quality as well as perceptions of educational quality of faculty and students. The study found that faculty play a tremendous role in comprehensive universities, yet are underappreciated by their administration. Additionally, comprehensive universities are trying to be everything to …

The Ugly Duckling: Insights Into Ancient Maya Commerce And Industry From Pottery Petrography, James Aimers, Elizabeth Haussner, Dori Farthing

Anthropology

No abstract provided.

Reconstructing Neuronal Connectivity From Calcium Imaging Data Using Generalized Transfer Entropy, Jina Li

Public Health Theses

The reconstruction of neuronal connectivity is a very interesting and important topic in neuroscience as it helps with understanding neuronal circuit and function. With the advancement of calcium fluorescence imaging technique, we can now observe the dynamical activity of hundreds of neurons in vivo in one setting, which provides a foundation for inferring connectivity within a community or network. Poor signal-to-noise ratio and low frame rate with respect to neurons’ actual firing rate are challenges that come with calcium imaging data. Here we review several methods that can be applied to calcium imaging data, without the direct need for converting …

General Anesthesia: A Literature Review - Induction, Mechanism, Agents, And Effects, Sylvie Yaacoub

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

A Closer Look At The Interaction Between Music, Personality And Its Effect On Individuals' Stress, Kristen M. Satchel

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

With stress being a common occurrence in society, if left unchecked it can lead to dangerous situations, mentally and physically, for an individual. Music is a facet that has been employed to help manage stress. Hanser (1985) indicates classical music has been used as a tool for relaxation and stress reduction. However, differences in the Big Five personality traits have been linked to differences in the use of music as well. The strongest association between personality and music use is the positive correlation between Neuroticism and emotional use of music, indicating that less emotionally stable individuals seem to show greater …

Mechatronic Education At The Faculty Of Technical Sciences Novi Sad, Gordana Ostojić, Vukica Jovanović, Drazan Kozak, Zeljko Ivandić, Stevan Stankovski

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The emerging engineering field of mechatronics has caught the attention of many engineering professionals, academics and government officials in recent years, nationally and globally. The main reason for this is that many modern products are no longer purely electrical and electronic or mechanical. Moreover, they are integrated multidisciplinary products which are made from subsystems which require engineering knowledge of different disciplines. Hence, increasing number of universities is offering courses, certificates and programs at undergraduate and graduate levels in the area of mechatronics. This paper presents an educational program in mechatronics at the Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, …

Chemotaxis Of Central Nervous System-Derived Tumor Cells Within Controlled Microenvironments, Jennifer Rico Varela

Dissertations and Theses

Medulloblastoma (MB) is a malignant pediatric brain tumor known for its aggressive metastatic potential. Despite the well-documented migration of MB cells to other parts of the brain and spinal column, MB chemotaxis is poorly understood. Herein, we examined the in vitro migratory and cellular responses of MB-derived cells to external signaling of Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-BB), and the stromal cell-derived factors 1-alpha (SDF-1). Experiments utilized transwell assays and immunocytochemistry to identify receptor activation in MB migration, and used a microfluidic platform to examine directionality, trajectory, and gradient- dependence of motile cells. Data …

Development Of Super Hydrophobic Surfaces Using Silica Nanoparticles, Muhammad Salman Saleem

Dissertations and Theses

The development of surfaces that have high water contact angles and hysteresis has always been of great importance in industrial applications. Various methods and techniques have been introduced to fabricate surfaces at nano-scale to support super hydrophobicity. Some of these techniques are expensive, some are very complex, most can be used for selective materials and substrate and some form surfaces with very poor wear resistance. This document represents a systematic study on fabrication of super hydrophobic surfaces on glass substrate (SiO2) using the functionalized silica (SiO2) nano particles. SU8, Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and Methyphenyl Resin SR355 polymer are being used as …

Can Gender-Stereotyped Depictions Of Occupations In Primary School Textbooks Help Shape Students' Career Choice In The Dominican Republic?, Hurtado Pérez Nohemí

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Is The Trans-Pacific Partnership A ‘Natural’ Trade Bloc?, Matthew Ziegler

Dissertations and Theses

The Trans-Pacific Partnership began as a free trade agreement between Brunei Darussalam, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore which was enacted in 2004. Since that time, additional countries have entered into formal negotiations to expand the trade bloc, including the USA, Mexico, Peru, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, Vietnam and Japan. This paper seeks to determine whether these countries represent a ‘natural’ trade partnership by comparing and contrasting the trade complementarity index between each pair of countries within the partnership and those other countries counted in the APEC 21 countries plus India, which is a member of the RCEP trade bloc.
Previous studies …

Synoptic Patterns Associated With Northeast And South East Ice Storms, Ricardo Vargas

Dissertations and Theses

Wintertime storms that produce precipitation events such as snow, freezing rain, and ice pellets cause significant damage to utility services and disrupt travel. These synoptic systems involve deep isothermal regions where warm, moist air over-runs surface sub-freezing air. Much attention has been focused on Northeast ice storms, where a study by Cortinas et al. (2004) identified the Northeast as the region with the highest spatial distribution of freezing rain and ice pellets. Castellano (2012) also identified 2 types events where ice storms occur in the Northeast as a result of cold-air intrusions from Canada and from an absence of cold …

Degradation Of Carbon Tetrachloride Using Hydrophobic Green Rust, Sheena Bowman

Dissertations and Theses

Hydrophobic green rusts (GR) were produced using aerial oxidation of solutions containing bis (2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (BIS) and sodium N-lauroylsarcosinate (SNLS), iron (II) sulfate and sodium hydroxide. The synthesis was conduced at constant pH 8.0±0.1 for the duration of 1-3 hrs. Partition tests showed GRBIS and GRSNLS suspended in the organic phase (tetrachloroethylene). Through X-ray diffraction analysis both GRs exhibit similar patterns to Green Rust II, an inorganic form of GR. The kinetics of GR reductive dechlorination of carbon tetrachloride (CT) was investigated. CT at high concentrations was degraded at high percentages for GRBIS-3, 88.5% and GRSNLS-5, 97.6%. Their reactions were …

Characterization Of Tropical Clouds Using Multi-Satellite Observations, Ricardo Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

Clouds an important component of the earth-climate system and play a critical role in affecting energy and water cycle of the planet. In particular, tropical convective clouds account for the majority of the precipitation that fall on the Earth's surface. Multiple active satellite missions in recent decade such as TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission), and CloudSat have provided fruitful new insight into the internal structures of these tropical convective clouds. In conjunction with cloud data from ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project), that is based passive remote sensing technology in the visible and infrared spectrum, this allows for a more …

Factors Affecting Persistence Rates Among College Freshmen, Darlene Rozon

Dissertations and Theses

This study explored new factors that may be associated with college success, including parents’ education level, annual household income, hours spent outside the classroom, and college premium. The current study provides evidence from an urban public college of predominately low socio-economic status students. Participants (N=251) were students enrolled in fall semester 2009 in an introductory psychology course. Participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire about their college experience, demographics and family background. Survival analysis and binary logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of each factor on college retention Parents’ education level and student’s knowledge of the economic …

Intra- And Inter-Seasonal Variability Of Supra-Glacial 1 Streams And Lakes Over The West Greenland Ice Sheet 2 From High-Resolution Satellite Optical Data, Michael Gregory Brown

Dissertations and Theses

The Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) is one of the largest glacial ice masses on Earth, second only to the Antarctic ice sheet. The surface hydrology of the GrIS plays a crucial role on the surface energy and mass balance budgets of the ice sheet as a whole. Surface water, known as supra-glacial water, is seasonally found in the ablation zone and feeds the en-glacial and sub-glacial hydrological environments of the ice sheet. The spatial distribution of surface streams is poorly understood and their temporal variability is (to our knowledge) unknown. One of the reasons for the lack of knowledge on …

Consequence Management: Evaluating And Developing International Responses To Nuclear And Radiological Disasters, Timothy Taylor

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

International Branch Campuses, Ninive Gomez

Dissertations and Theses

In this thesis, I studied the socio-economic, cultural, and political impact of International Branch Campuses in developing countries. I focused on the financial implications for the host country and examine whether international education providers are helping to enhance students’ core competency levels. I have investigated the advantages and disadvantages of international education providers in developing countries and what contribution they provide to the development of the host country’s economy. I conducted three case studies (Malaysia, United Arab Emirate and South Africa), which provided empirical understanding of all aspects of International Branch Campuses; including why and how host governments are financing/subsidizing …

Using A 3d World To Address Perceptual Issues In Human-Robot Coordination, D. Paul Benjamin, Damian M. Lyons

CSIS Technical Reports

The paper argues that effective human-robot coordination benefits from active, goal-oriented perception and internal simulation. ADAPT constructs and continually updates a 3D virtual model of the robot, its environment, and people; physics simulation allows the robot to anticipate action effects and plan interactions. The architecture also uses the virtual world to connect perceptual context, cognitive semantics, and natural-language interaction.

Integrated Hydrologic Land Surface State Climate Indicators, Brian Lamb

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

High Frequency Periodicity In Stock Trades, Maria Joao Arantes E Oliveira

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Abstracts 2015: Highlights Of Student Research And Creative Endeavors, Columbus State University

Abstracts: Highlights of Student Research and Creative Endeavors

No abstract provided.

Synthesis & Hypercest Testing Of Ctv Derivatives: A Bowl Shaped Compound That Encapsulates Xenon, Joseph D. Brown

Open Access Dissertations

The primary focus of this dissertation is the synthesis and testing of cyclotriveratrylenes (CTV) as potential biomedical molecular imaging contrast agents. CTVs are bowl shaped molecules that have a hydrophobic pocket capable of reversibly binding Xenon-129 (¹²⁹Xe) gas, a spin ½ noble gas, which is diamagnetic and produces a signal when a strong magnetic field is applied to it. These CTVs then create two pools of ¹²⁹Xe which produce distinct signals in an NMR scan. The creation of the two pools of ¹²⁹Xe is necessary for the application of an imaging technique named HyperCEST, Hyperpolarized Chemical …