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A Robotic Device To Assist With In-Vivo Measurement Of Human Pelvic Organ Tissue Properties, Shashank S. Kumat

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Measurement of the biomechanical properties of human pelvic organ tissue without undergoing minimally invasive surgery is desired for diagnostics purposes and take precautionary actions if needed. The biomechanical properties of the bladder change with age and due to diseases. Thus, identification of the viscoelastic properties of the tissue could help in detecting early stages of the disease in the bladder. A literature survey revealed that no device exists that could be used to characterize the biomechanical properties of the human bladder in-vivo. This research contributes towards the development of a diagnostic system that could be used in a medical setting …

Application Of Artificial Neural Network For Evaporative Cooling In Data Centres, Feyisola Adejokun

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

A data center is a facility that may be used to house telecommunication or storage devices. Because of the 24/7 required operation of a data center, large segments of a data center are geared towards evacuating heat generated from operating one. Data centers entail multiple operating configurations, great amount of constraints and nonlinear correlations. The need to effectively optimize a data center operation presents a daunting challenge. The data center considered in this research is a test bed modular data center (MDC). Comprising of an Information Technology (IT), DEC and IEC module. Typical MDC are dynamic and complex in nature …

Medication Nonadherence, Health Care Utilization, And Safemed Care Transitions Model Impact In Super-Utilizers, Satya Surbhi

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

BACKGROUND: Super-utilizers are individuals with disproportionately high inpatient and emergency department (ED) use, and mostly have multiple chronic conditions and use multiple concurrent medications. They place a substantial burden on the U.S. healthcare system and have become the focus of policy initiatives aimed at reducing their disproportionate inpatient and ED use. Medication management is critical for these patients since nonadherence to essential chronic medications is associated with poor health outcomes, and higher health care utilization and costs. OBJECTIVES: This dissertation employed a three empirical research papers approach to study the following aims: (1) the prevalence and patterns of medication nonadherence …

Navigation Paths To Adoption Through The Alaska Foster Care System: A Resource Guide For Potential Adoptive Parents, Tashina Duttle

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

Alaska has a higher than national average rate of adoption from foster care. While just over 20% of children in foster care nationally are discharged from state custody through adoption Alaska has nearly 30% of foster children discharged from state custody through adoption. There are a number of programs and resources available for foster parents and families interested in adopting through foster care in Alaska. However, there lacks a comprehensive single-point reference guide to explore the various paths. This research was conducted to identify resources available for families interested in learning about paths to adopt from foster care in Alaska …

Reexamining Chronic Toxoplasma Gondii Infection: Surprising Activity For A "Dormant" Parasite, Anthony P. Sinai, Elizabeth A. Watts, Animesh Dhara, Robert D. Murphy, Matthew S. Gentry, Abhijit R. Patwardhan

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Purpose of Review

Despite over a third of the world’s population being chronically infected with Toxoplasma gondii, little is known about this largely asymptomatic phase of infection. This stage is mediated in vivo by bradyzoites within tissue cysts. The absence of overt symptoms has been attributed to the dormancy of bradyzoites. In this review, we reexamine the conventional view of chronic toxoplasmosis in light of emerging evidence challenging both the nature of dormancy and the consequences of infection in the CNS.

Recent Findings

New and emerging data reveal a previously unrecognized level of physiological and replicative capacity of bradyzoites …

Fatigue Mitigation Effects Of En-Route Napping On Commercial Airline Pilots Flying International Routes, Thomas Bunting

Theses and Dissertations

The introduction of ultra-long range commercial aircraft and the evolution of the commercial airline industry has provided new opportunities for air carriers to fly longer range international route segments while deregulation, industry consolidation, and the constant drive to reduce costs wherever possible has pressured airline managements to seek more productivity from their pilots. At the same time, advancements in the understanding of human physiology have begun to make their way into flight and duty time regulations and airline scheduling practices. In this complex and ever changing operating environment, there remains an essential need to better understand how these developments, and …

Pain-Related Anxiety As A Predictor Of Early Lapse And Relapse To Cigarette Smoking, Lisa Renee Larowe

Dissertations - ALL

Pain-related anxiety has been positively associated with tobacco dependence, smoking motives, self-reported barriers to smoking cessation, and expectancies for negative affect reduction via smoking. Although emerging research suggests that pain-related anxiety may play a role in the maintenance of tobacco dependence, no previous work has examined pain-related anxiety as a predictor of smoking cessation outcomes. The goal of the current study was to test the hypothesis that pain-related anxiety would predict early lapse and relapse to cigarette smoking among a sample of 55 daily tobacco smokers who participated in an unaided cessation attempt (i.e., without psychosocial or pharmacological intervention). Pain-related …

The Prescribed Burning Impacts On Soil Water Repellency And Soil Hydrological Properties In Sagebrush-Steppe Ecosystem, Yang Cheng

Dissertations - ALL

Prescribed fire is an important tool for rangeland management in sage-steppe ecosystem, yet the long-term effects of this practice have not been well studied. Previous studies of fire-affected soil water repellency have identified the strength and persistence of SWR after burning in different types of forests but have not identified consistent timelines for post-fire recovery. This study explores the impacts of fire and plant community succession on SWR and infiltration properties to further inform rangeland managers regarding the long-term impacts of prescribed fire on SWR and infiltration properties in sagebrush-steppe ecosystems.

The objectives of this study were: 1) To explore …

Statistical Mechanical Treatments Of The Optical Properties Of Cadmium Selenide Quantum Dots, Amogh Srihari

Dissertations - ALL

Semiconductors that exist in the nanoscale are referred to as Quantum Dots (QDs). This distinction is made because in the nanoscale, semiconductors behave much differently compared to their bulk counterparts. QDs possess band gaps that change based on their size and this unique property enables them to emit different colors, rendering them useful in a number of applications. QDs are widely used in LED technology and are becoming commonplace in biological applications involving in-vivo imaging. Efforts have gone into making QDs viable for photovoltaic applications as well. Although a lot is understood about the effects of size and shape on …

Exendin 4 Conjugation And Sequence Modification To Treat Type 2 Diabetes And Obesity, Ronald Bonaccorso Bonaccorso

Dissertations - ALL

This thesis addresses three primary questions based on the pharmacodynamics (PD) or pharmacokinetics

(PK) of the diabetes drug exendin 4 (Ex-4), and vitamin B12 (B12) bioconjugates, thereof.

Q1. (Chapter 2) What effect does B12 conjugation to Ex-4 have on agonism of the glucagon-like peptide-1

receptor (GLP-1R) in vitro and on PD/PK (including brain uptake and function) in vivo?

Goal: To remove side-effects (nausea, weight loss) of Ex-4 without loss of glucoregulation.

Q2. (Chapter 3) Can B12 dietary uptake proteins such as gastric intrinsic factor offer protection to B12

conjugated peptides or proteins (focusing on Ex-4), with a view to improving …

Brothers In Blood: The Significance Of Land And Loss In The Creation Of Jewish And Native American Ethnic And Religious Identity, Michael Eron Chaness

Dissertations - ALL

Volunteering at the Onondaga Nation School and collaborating with Chief Jacobs has exposed me to a new and subversive underbelly of American political and religious life. Working on sovereign Native land also provided valuable on the ground experience in Onondaga language and Haudenosaunee culture - food, humor, lacrosse, art, ceremony, government, education etc. Throughout my tenure at Onondaga I have used comparison as the backdrop for my experiences collaborating with Native peoples as well as the methodological backbone for this dissertation project.

My dissertation project, Brothers in Blood: the Significance of Land and Loss in the Creation of Jewish and …

Neuromorphic Learning Systems For Supervised And Unsupervised Applications, Qiuwen Chen

Dissertations - ALL

The advancements in high performance computing (HPC) have enabled the large-scale implementation of neuromorphic learning models and pushed the research on computational intelligence into a new era. Those bio-inspired models are constructed on top of unified building blocks, i.e. neurons, and have revealed potentials for learning of complex information. Two major challenges remain in neuromorphic computing. Firstly, sophisticated structuring methods are needed to determine the connectivity of the neurons in order to model various problems accurately. Secondly, the models need to adapt to non-traditional architectures for improved computation speed and energy efficiency. In this thesis, we address these two problems …

Studies Of Cell Motility And Differentiation In Complex 3d In Vitro Microenvironment, Jing Wang

Dissertations - ALL

Cell behaviors, such as motility and differentiation, which are highly regulated by the complex 3D in vivo microenvironment, have been extensively studied in the past decades to better understand the mechanisms of development, disease, and healing. Due to the highly complex nature of the in vivo environment and limited resources and access to study cell behaviors in vivo, great efforts have been made to develop in vitro systems to mimic the in vivo microenvironment for a better understanding of cell-microenvironment interactions. However, most of the commonly used in vitro systems are static, which cannot mimic the dynamics of the microenvironment …

Trichloroacetimidates As Alkylating Reagents In C-N Bond Formation And Synthesis Of Aminosteroid And Quinoline Inhibitors Of Src Homology 2 Domain-Containing Inositol Phosphatase (Ship), Daniel Ryan Wallach

Dissertations - ALL

Trichloroacetimidates have frequently been used in the formation of glycosidic bonds and other ethers, which is especially useful for the introduction of ether protecting groups. Trichloroacetimidates have also been used as electrophiles in Friedel-Crafts alkylation reactions. The formation of C-N bonds has also been accomplished utilizing trichloroacetimidates. Most frequently C-N bond formation with trichloroacetimidates is associated with sigmatropic rearrangement of an allylic trichloroacetimidate to an allylic trichloroacetamide. This reaction can proceed thermally or through the use of Lewis acid or transition metal catalysts. Recently, the direct substitution of trichloroacetimidates using nitrogen nucleophiles has been accomplished utilizing transition metal catalysts, which …

Draft Genome Of The Leopard Gecko, Eublepharis Macularius, Zijun Xiong, Fang Li, Qiye Li, Long Zhou, Jiao Zheng, Tony Gamble, Ling Kui, Cai Li, Shengbin Li, Huanming Yang, Guojie Zhang

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Geckos are among the most species-rich reptile groups and the sister clade to all other lizards and snakes. Geckos possess a suite of distinctive characteristics, including adhesive digits, nocturnal activity, hard, calcareous eggshells, and a lack of eyelids. However, one gecko clade, the Eublepharidae, appears to be the exception to most of these ‘rules’ and lacks adhesive toe pads, has eyelids, and lays eggs with soft, leathery eggshells. These differences make eublepharids an important component of any investigation into the underlying genomic innovations contributing to the distinctive phenotypes in ‘typical’ geckos.

Findings

We report high-depth genome sequencing, assembly, and …

Fluorine Atom Influence On Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonding, Isomerization And Methyl Group Rotation In Fluorinated Acetylacetones, Brett De Vries, Mark Muyskens

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

1-Fluoro-pentane-2,4-dione (monofluoroacetylacetone, MFAA) is an asymmetric β-diketone with a strong intramolecular hydrogen bond similar to acetylacetone (AA) and its fluorinated analogs 1,1,1-trifluoro-(TFAA), and 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoroacetylacetone (HFAA). The presence of a fluorine atom in MFAA has the potential to open an HF elimination channel in its gas-phase photochemistry motivating this study of MFAA hydrogen bonding by computer modeling using Density Functional Theory (DFT). As a context, we also report DFT modeling of AA and selected fluorinated acetylacetones: 1,1-difluoro-pentane-2,4-dione (difluoroacetylacetone, DFAA), TFAA, and HFAA. The most stable molecular structure for all three asymmetric β-diketones (MFAA, DFAA and TFAA) is the isomer with the …

Comparing Multiple Methods Of Eye Tracking For Packaging, David Bradford Cottrell

All Theses

The technology to understand consumer behavior through eye tracking is becoming more affordable and accessible. When eye tracking is applied within a retail environment, packaging can be evaluated based on the amount of attention obtained. For companies developing products or designing packages, the results of eye tracking could help estimate the likelihood a package will be selected over competitors, what design attributes attract the most attention or how shelf placement impacts sales. Using a physical retail environment with tangible stimuli allows participants to be fully immersed and follow normal shopping behaviors. However, many eye tracking studies are conducted in a …

Tannic Acid Crosslinked Collagen Type I For Prevention Of Local Her2-Positive Breast Cancer Recurrence, Lauren Gayle Jordan

All Theses

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the United States, affecting about 12 percent of women nationally (Ma and Jemal, 2013). The American Cancer Society estimates that 246,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in 2016 (American Cancer Society, 2016 b). Breast cancer accounts for almost 30% of new cancer diagnoses and is one of the leading causes of cancer related deaths among women in developed countries. In addition, breast cancer is becoming a worldwide problem with incidence and mortality rates increasing steadily over the past 20 years in developing countries …

2016 Winter Graduate & Undergraduate Commencement, Lindenwood University

Commencement Programs

Lindenwood University Commencement program.

Towards An Anthropometric History Of Latin America In The Second Half Of The Twentieth Century, Amílcar E. Challú, Sergio Silva-Castañeda

History Faculty Publications

We examine the evolution of adult female heights in twelve Latin American countries during the second half of the twentieth century based on demographic health surveys and related surveys compiled from national and international organizations. Only countries with more than one survey were included, allowing us to cross-examine surveys and correct for biases. We first show that average height varies significantly according to location, from 148.3 cm in Guatemala to 158.8 cm in Haiti. The evolution of heights over these decades behaves like indicators of human development, showing a steady increase of 2.6 cm from the 1950s to the 1990s. …

Murine Models Of Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma: A Role For Cav1?, Chelsey L. Patten, Christine E. Cutucache

Biology Faculty Publications

Dozens of murine models of indolent and aggressive B-cell lymphomas have been generated to-date. These include those manifesting chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) as well as xenografts of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). These models have led to an improved understanding of disease etiology, B-cell biology, immunomodulation, and the importance of the tumor microenvironment. Despite these efforts in CLL, DLBCL, and MCL, considerably little progress toward a model of splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) has been accomplished. Herein, we describe the similarities and differences between CLL, MCL, and SMZL, and highlight effective murine models that mimic disease …

Assessing Data Quality In Citizen Science, Margaret Kosmala, Andrea Wiggins, Alexandra Swanson, Brooke Simmons

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Publications

Ecological and environmental citizen‐science projects have enormous potential to advance scientific knowledge, influence policy, and guide resource management by producing datasets that would otherwise be infeasible to generate. However, this potential can only be realized if the datasets are of high quality. While scientists are often skeptical of the ability of unpaid volunteers to produce accurate datasets, a growing body of publications clearly shows that diverse types of citizen‐science projects can produce data with accuracy equal to or surpassing that of professionals. Successful projects rely on a suite of methods to boost data accuracy and account for bias, including iterative …

Carriers For The Tunable Release Of Therapeutics: Etymological Classification And Examples, Vuk Uskoković, Shreya Ghosh

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Introduction—Physiological processes at the molecular level take place at precise spatiotemporal scales, which vary from tissue to tissue and from one patient to another, implying the need for the carriers that enable tunable release of therapeutics.

Areas Covered—Classification of all drug release to intrinsic and extrinsic is proposed, followed by the etymological clarification of the term “tunable” and its distinction from the term “tailorable”. Tunability is defined as analogous to tuning a guitar string or a radio receiver to the right frequency using a single knob. It implies changing a structural parameter along a continuous quantitative scale and …

Effects Of Synthesis Parameters On Polydopamine Nanoparticle Size, Prince Osuchukwu

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Multilayered Structure Of Tension Wood Cell Walls In Salicaceae Sensu Lato And Its Taxonomic Significance, Barbara Ghislain, Eric-André Nicolini, Raïssa Romain, Julien Ruelle, Arata Yoshinaga, Mac H. Alford, Bruno Clair

Faculty Publications

Salicaceae have been enlarged to include a majority of the species formerly placed in the polyphyletic tropical Flacourtiaceae. Several studies have reported a peculiar and infrequently formed multilayered structure of tension wood in four of the tropical genera. Tension wood is a tissue produced by trees to restore their vertical orientation and most studies have focused on trees developing tension wood by means of cellulose-rich, gelatinous fibres, as in Populus and Salix (Salicaceae s.s.). This study aims to determine if the multilayered structure of tension wood is an anatomical characteristic common in other Salicaceae and, if so, how its …

Fun, Fear, And Frustration: Experiences And Opportunities In The Classroom, Michelle Price

Lavery Library Faculty/Staff Publications

In lieu of an abstract, here is the article's first paragraph:

As the outreach and special collections librarian at a small liberal arts college, I also serve as the liaison to the Wegmans School of Nursing, the Wegmans School of Pharmacy, and the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. My formal training is in secondary education, with an undergraduate degree in Spanish. So when my liaison work brought me into a cellular biology course, I struggled with the content. Although I could think of great ways to engage the students in active learning, I was lacking enough basic science knowledge …

Effect From Substrate Binding And Selected Mutations For Allosteric Communication In Atm1 Type Abc Exporter, Yinling Liu

All Dissertations

This thesis employed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the effects of substrate binding and site-direct mutation of proteins. Chapter 2 performed MD simulations to examine the substrate effects on the behavior of Atm1 type ABC exporter. We found that thiol-containing glutathione (GSH) bound Atm1 type ABC exporter undergoes the largest conformational changes characterizing the nucleotide binding domain (NBD) coming closer together. The intracellular loops ICL1 and ICL2 between NBDs and transmembrane domains (TMDs) associated with the biggest fluctuation in the first principle component from PCA analysis in GSH bound system. Also, unlocking and slide along each other of two …

Experimental Characterization And Simulation Of Carbon Nanotube Strain Sensing Films, Nagendra Krishna Chaitanya Tummalapalli

Masters Theses

Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) have excellent mechanical, electrical and electromechanical properties. These properties led to a lot of novel applications. Due to change in electrical properties under mechanical loading, these composites have potential applications in strain sensors, when these are fabricated as films. CNT-based films are commonly fabricated using different physical and chemical techniques based on the property requirements governing those applications. In this work, CNT films were prepared using wet chemical based methods and chemical vapor deposition techniques.

Plasma chemical vapor deposition using microwave power is used in the first method to deposit films on silicon substrates, using Nickel film …

Physiology And Genetics Shape The Microbiome Of A Seabird Species (Oceanodroma Leucorhoa) More Than Environmental And Social Factors, Douglas Steven Pearce

Masters Theses

The microbiome provides multiple benefits to animal hosts that can profoundly impact health and behavior. Microbiomes are well-characterized in humans and animals in controlled settings, yet assessments of wild bird microbial communities remain vastly understudied. This study examines the multiple factors that affect the microbiome of a burrow-nesting Procellariiform bird species, Leach’s storm-petrel. 16S rRNA-based Illumina Mi-Seq analyses are used to assess the composition and structure of bird and burrow-associated bacterial communities. Results indicate that sex and skin site contribute to bird-associated bacterial community variation, and MHC heterozygosity impacts these bacterial assemblages in a sex and site-specific manner, potentially having …

Development Of Fully Printed And Flexible Strain, Pressure And Electrochemical Sensors, Dinesh Maddipatla

Masters Theses

In recent years, considerable research has been put into the development of printed electronics (PE) as well as the best ways to effectively and efficiently print electronic devices on flexible substrates. This thesis focuses majorly on the design and fabrication of novel flexible sensors using conventional printing processes.

Initially, a flexible printed strain gauge was fabricated successfully on a flexible paper substrate using flexography printing process. Silver (Ag) ink was printed on the paper substrate as metallization layer. The performance of the printed device was investigated by subjecting the strain gauge to a 3-point bend test, with a displacement of …