Digital Commons Network^™

Let's Get Technical--A Herculean Task: Cleanup In Preparation For Migrating To A New Ils, Stacey Marien, Alayne Mundt

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Biz Of Acq--Digging Deeper: Trends By Discipline After 4+ Years Into Winthrop's Pda Program, Michelle Flinchbaugh, Antje Mays

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

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Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Electrostatic Nanosmearing Architecture Of Additive Functional Groups During High Shear Mixing Of Pharmaceutical Blends, Sajan Kumar Chatarla

Masters Theses

The main objective of the research project is to detect and quantify the rate and extent of nanosmearing of hydrophobic functional groups of additives on multiple pharmaceutical particles during high shear mixing of formulations due to electrostatics affecting critical blend properties on the bulk scale. We accomplished this task by systematically detecting the electrostatics during powder flow and its consequence on the nanosmearing distribution of additives during mixing. In the first stage, the electrostatic behavior of particles was correlated to the powder flow. Secondly, its relative influence on nanosmearing of additives during mixing was determined by developing a methodology to …

Analysis Of Synthetic Cannabinoids And Drugs Of Abuse Amongst Hiv-Infected Individuals, Jillian M. Wetzel

Student Theses

Synthetic cannabinoids are man-made mind-alternating chemicals. Law enforcement and legislation have attempted to classify many of these synthetic cannabinoids as schedule I controlled substances, however, they are continuously being modified by dealers at the retail end of the distribution chain. Addiction and moderate use of illicit drugs have been identified as major reasons for non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV patients. However, there is no data regarding the impact of synthetic cannabinoid exposure in this population and how this affects their compliancy with taking antiretroviral therapy. A total of 72 authentic urine specimens were collected weekly from 13 individuals with …

The Alestle - Vol. 69. No. 19 - 12/01/2016, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

The Alestle

Vol. 69 No. 18

Automatic Parallel Octree Grid Generation Software With An Extensible Solver Framework And A Focus On Urban Simulation, Ethan Alan Hereth

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The development of an automatic, dynamic, parallel, Cartesian, linear forest-of-octree grid generator and partial differential equation (PDE) solver framework is presented. This research is bundled into an application programmed with C++ which uses MPI for distributed parallelism. The application is named paros which stands for PARallel Octree Solver. In its current implementation, the application provides a 'zeroth' order representation of the target geometry, and as such, no cut-cell algorithm, projection method, or immersed boundary condition are implemented. In this case, 'zeroth' order means that no geometry is ever exactly represented in the final computational mesh: an octree element is either …

The Impact Of Video Gaming On Managers' Adaptive Leadership Skills: Do Millennials Have An Advantage?, John W. Harbison

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The aging Baby Boomer Generation, coupled with the large coming of age Millennial Generation and the need for more adaptive and flexible employees in business, is presenting companies with a challenge of how to develop individuals in leadership positions within their organizations to properly demonstrate and implement adaptive leadership attributes. This study compared data previously gathered by the participating organization from individuals composed of multiple generations currently in leadership positions attending a leadership orientation course. Data were collected using a selected instrument measuring adaptive leadership skills. The focus of this study was to determine if the Millennial Generation has gained …

The Role Of Leed Certification In Consumer Major Purchase Decisions: A Case Study Of The Chattanooga Volkswagen Manufacturing Facility, Amy E. Katcher-Dunne

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program serves as a benchmark for ‘green’ construction in the U.S. Although considerable research has investigated the marketability of LEED-certified buildings, no direct attention has been given to assessing if the benefits of LEED certification filter down to the profitability of products manufactured in those buildings. To investigate this potential influence, I conducted a large-scale survey of regional owners of the Volkswagen Passat, which is manufactured in the world's first automobile plant to achieve LEED Platinum status. Results suggest that manufacturing facility LEED certification does not influence product purchasing decisions regardless …

Electrochemical Nox Reduction Using A Carbon Nanospiked Catalyst, Shikha Patel

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Electrochemical NOx reduction was studied using a novel, nanostructured nitrogen-doped carbon nanospikes catalyst (CNS). NOx is a major environment and health concern that is typically eliminated using noble-metal gas-phase catalytic reactors. Alternatively, an electrocatalytic approach may reduce NOx to N2 using electric potential and reaction, foregoing noble metal catalysis. For these studies nitrate 〖(NO〗_3^-) and nitrite (〖NO〗_2^-) (the end products of dissolved NOx in water) were used as surrogate reagents. Basic solutions were more favorable than acidic solutions for nitrate reduction. The nitrate reduction reaction with three different electrolytes, Lithium hydroxide, Sodium hydroxide, and Potassium hydroxide has been compared. Identification …

The Failure Of Westphalia: A Constructivist Examination Of Western And Middle Eastern Relations, Jayson Warren

Masters Theses

This thesis is not intended to be a dogmatic or pedantic endorsement of any one religion, ethic, or culture. To the contrary, it is the intent of the author to examine a number of competing ideas, philosophies, and belief systems in order to extrapolate their geopolitical implications and to pursue them to their logical (albeit sometimes inevitable) conclusions. Too often, any number of presuppositions at work within a given situation go overlooked and subsequently skew geopolitical analysis and resulting policy decisions. This thesis seeks to transcend mere opinion or speculation and achieve instead a framework of Constructivism for pragmatic comprehension …

Discrete And Continuous Operational Calculus In Stochastic Games, Kenneth Ibe Iwezulu

Theses and Dissertations

First, we consider a class of antagonistic stochastic games between two players A and B. The game is specified in terms of two "hostile" stochastic processes representing mutual attacks upon random times exerting casualties of random magnitudes. This game is observed upon random epochs of time and the outcome of the game is not known in real time. The game ends at the time when the underlying fixed threshold of either player is crossed (referred to as the first passage time). The first passage time is then shifted to an epoch, i.e. upon one of the observation instants of time. …

Chemical Forms Of Nitrogen In Runoff From Diverse Florida Watersheds, Jessica Emily Voelker

Theses and Dissertations

Watershed use along the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) on the central east coast of Florida has changed drastically during the past century, bringing with it declining water quality, eutrophication, hypoxia and fish kills. The decline of the lagoon has been directly linked to nutrient overloading; however, the sources and chemical forms of nutrients to the IRL are still not well constrained. This study was designed to determine how watershed land use impacts concentrations and fluxes of the various forms of dissolved nitrogen to the IRL. Five tributaries to the IRL were sampled monthly from July 2015 – September 2016. Storm …

Modelling The Response Of Phytoplankton To Mesoscale And Submesoscale Processes At The Sub-Antarctic Front, Zoë E. Waring

The Plymouth Student Scientist

This study extends a basic NPZ (Nutrient, Phytoplankton, Zooplankton) model to investigate the impact of turbulence on phytoplankton growth. Despite recent studies suggesting that submesoscale dynamics are crucial for the transfer of energy and nutrients across eddies, there are relatively few in situ studies and none, before now, at the Sub-Antarctic Front (SAF) to the East of Drake Passage. This study draws on data collected at the SAF and predictions made by the model to give an insight into the processes governing phytoplankton growth across a cold core mesoscale eddy. Conductivity, temperature, nutrient and chlorophyll-a (chl-a) measurements were used to …

The Cytotoxic And Genotoxic Potential Of Titanium Dioxide (Tio2) Nanoparticles On Human Sh-Sy5y Neuronal Cells In Vitro, Rebecca Allen

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles are one of the most commonly used nanomaterials. They are used in plastics, sunscreens, personal care products, pharmaceuticals and the food industry due to their photocatalytic properties, high refractive index and generally unreactive nature. Their vast range of applications, and hence potential exposure to humans, raises concern over the safety of the nanomaterial. TiO2 nanoparticles have been extensively studied; however, their toxic effect on humans is still poorly understood, particularly the adverse effects they may have on the nervous system. In vivo studies have shown that TiO2 nanoparticles are able to enter the brain via circulation …

Factors Affecting The Quantity Of Social Interactions And Aggression In Captive Group Housed Asiatic Black Bears (Ursus Thibetanus), Lianne Ottewell

The Plymouth Student Scientist

This study observed a group of Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) in a captive environment that differs greatly to standard zoological institutions. Rather than being housed alone or with one other, as is typical in captivity, two large groups of bears consisting of 24 individuals were observed in two different enclosures. Any instance of social behaviour was noted down, both positive and negative, to determine the extent to which social relationships form and whether these animals have the capacity to live in large groups, regardless of their supposed solitary nature. The results indicated that the duration of social interactions were …

Callosal Connectivity And Interhemispheric Bilateral Advantage: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study, Sophie Clarke

The Plymouth Student Scientist

There is wide acknowledgement that the cerebral hemispheres do not operate in isolation when processing complex visual stimuli (Singh, 2000; Schulte & Muller-Oehring, 2010). Patterns of interhemispheric communication are believed to be integral to such cognitive abilities, yet the circumstances under which communication takes place and the nature of information being processed is poorly understood. This experiment addresses the role of interhemispheric communication regarding inter-individual differences in underlying white matter (WM) relating to the matching facial identity. Several studies have already documented the role of WM in processing abilities such as with differences in gender, age and disease (Schulte & …

A Tale Of Two Antennules: The Performance Of Crab Odor-Capture Organs In Air And Water, Lindsay D. Waldrop, Laura A. Miller, Shilpa Khatri

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Odour capture is an important part of olfaction, where dissolved chemical cues (odours) are brought into contact with chemosensory structures. Antennule flicking by marine crabs is an example of discrete odour capture (sniffing) where an array of chemosensory hairs is waved through the water to create a flow–no flow pattern based on a narrow range of speeds, diameters of and spacings between hairs. Changing the speed of movement and spacing of hairs at this scale to manipulate flow represents a complicated fluid dynamics problem. In this study, we use numerical simulation of the advection and diffusion of a chemical gradient …

A New Valuation School: Integrating Diverse Values Of Nature In Resource And Land Use Decisions, Sander Jacobs, Nicolas Dendoncker, Berta Martin-Lopez, David Nicholas Barton, Erik Gomez-Baggethun, Fanny Boeraeve, Francesca L. Mcgrath, Kati Vierikko, Davide Geneletti, Katharina J. Sevecke, Nathalie Pipart, Eeva Primmer, Peter Mederly, Stefan Schmidt, Alexandra Aragao, Himlal Baral, Rosalind H. Bark, Tania Briceno, Delphine Brogna, Pedro Cabral, Rik De Vreese, Camino Liquete, Hannah Mueller, Kelvin S.H. Peh, Anna Phelan, Alexander R. Rincon, Shannon H. Rogers, Francis Turkelboom, Wouter Van Reeth, Boris T. Van Zanten, Hilde Karine Wam, Carla-Leanne Washbourne

New Hampshire EPSCoR

We are increasingly confronted with severe social and economic impacts of environmental degradation all over the world. From a valuation perspective, environmental problems and conflicts originate from trade-offs between values. The urgency and importance to integrate nature's diverse values in decisions and actions stand out more than ever.

Valuation, in its broad sense of ‘assigning importance’, is inherently part of most decisions on natural resource and land use. Scholars from different traditions -while moving from heuristic interdisciplinary debate to applied transdisciplinary science- now acknowledge the need for combining multiple disciplines and methods to represent the diverse set of values of …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Factors Influencing The Professional Longevity Of High School Science Teachers In Florida, James Alexander Ridgley Jr

Dissertations

This dissertation is an exploratory quantitative analysis of various independent variables to determine their effect on the professional longevity (years of service) of high school science teachers in the state of Florida for the academic years 2011–2012 to 2013–2014. Data are collected from the Florida Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress databases. The following research hypotheses are examined: H₁ – There are statistically significant differences in Level 1 (teacher variables) that influence the professional longevity of a high school science teacher in Florida. H₂ – There are statistically significant …

Habitat Use By Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops Truncatus, In Roanoke Sound, North Carolina, Shauna Marisa Mcbride

Dissertations

Information on the habitat use of a species is important to develop conservation efforts and management strategies for that species. Roanoke Sound, North Carolina is primarily a seasonal habitat for bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, from late spring to early fall, but little information is known about how dolphins use this area. Transect survey data and opportunistic survey data collected by the Outer Banks Center for Dolphin Research from 2009 to 2015 were used to analyze dolphin habitat use. The objectives of this project were to: 1) identify areas that were important to dolphins, 2) determine which behaviors were observed …

Analysis Of Professors’ Perceptions Towards Institutional Redevelopment Of Brownfield Sites In Alabama, Berkley Nathaniel King Jr.

Dissertations

This study was conducted to analyze professors’ perceptions on the institutional redevelopment of brownfield sites into usable greenspaces. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2011) refers to brownfields as sites, (either facility/land) under public law § 107-118 (H.R. 2869), which are contaminated with a substance that is classified as a hazard or a pollutant. Usable greenspaces, however, are open spaces or any open piece of land that is undeveloped, has no buildings or other built structures, and is accessible to the public (EPA, 2015).

Open green spaces provide recreational areas for residents and help to enhance the beauty and environmental quality …

Design And Synthesis Of Dynamic Covalent Polymer Scaffolds With Controlled Architectures, Emily Annette Hoff

Dissertations

The design and synthesis of functional, controlled polymer architectures is essential to the development of new materials with precise and tailorable properties or applications. The work described in this dissertation focuses on the development of controlled polymer architectures with dynamic linkages for the design of multifunctional materials and surfaces via robust, efficient, and stimuli-responsive strategies.

In Chapter III, a post-polymerization modification strategy based on ambient temperature nucleophilic chemical deblocking of polymer scaffolds bearing N-heterocycle blocked isocyanate moieties is reported. Room temperature RAFT polymerization of three azole-N-carboxamide methacrylates, including 3,5-dimethyl pyrazole, imidazole, and 1,2,4-triazole derivatives, afforded reactive polymer scaffolds …

Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence Study Of Semiconductor Nanoparticles Towards Sensitive Detection Of Biomolecules, Yiliyasi Wusimanjiang

Dissertations

The main focus of this dissertation is to unfold the fundamental aspects of electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) generation from semiconductor nanoparticles (also known as quantum dots or QDs) within different ECL systems. The ECL and photo-physical interactions between the CdTe QDs (λ_emission= ~760 nm) and the CdSe QDs (λ_emission= ~550 nm), as well as the effects of carbon nanotubes on ECL of QDs were separately investigated. Optimum experimental conditions for peptide bond formation on an electrode surface through EDC (1-ethyl-3-(-3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride)/NHS (N-Hydroxysulfosuccinimide) coupling were also revealed using cyclic voltammetry technique. Based on the information …

Investigating The Functional Role Of Tick Antioxidants In Hematophagy And Vector Competence, Deepak Kumar

Dissertations

Ticks are obligate hematophagous arthropods and harbor several pathogens which transmit various diseases to humans and their domesticated animals. Host blood- digestion in a tick midgut (MG) generates several reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are extremely toxic to essential macromolecules (e.g. DNA, proteins, and lipids) within the cell, resulting in high oxidative stress. Thus, this dissertation focuses on the questions of how tick homeostasis responds to high oxidative stress, and how ticks and their harbored pathogens survive the high surge of oxidative stress during blood digestion. We are specifically interested in the tick-pathogen, Rickettsia parkeri (R. parkeri, Rp), harbored by …

The Genomic Content And Context Of Auxiliary Metabolic Genes In Marine Cyanomyoviruses, Lisa T. Crummett, Richard J. Puxty, Claudia Weihe, Marcia F. Marston, Jennifer B.H. Martiny

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Viruses of marine cyanobacteria frequently contain auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) that augment host metabolism during infection, but little is known about their adaptive significance. We analyzed the distribution and genomic context of 33 AMGs across 60 cyanomyovirus genomes. Similarity in AMG content among cyanomyoviruses was only weakly correlated with phylogenetic relatedness; however, AMG content was generally conserved within the same operational taxonomic unit (OTU). A virus’ AMG repertoire was also correlated with its isolation host and environment (coastal versus open ocean). A new analytical method based on shared co-linear blocks revealed that variation in the genomic location of an AMG …

Foraging Patterns And Population Density Of The Buff-Bellied Hummingbird (Amazilia Yucatanensis) In Hidalgo County, Tx, Megan I. Villarreal

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this investigation was to examine the foraging patterns and population density of the Buff-bellied Hummingbird (Amazilia yucatanensis ) in Hidalgo County, TX. Previous studies showed that hummingbirds use flowers displaying traditional bird pollination (ornithophilous) characteristics: reddish coloration, tubular corolla, and extended anthers. Observation sessions noted type and frequency of flowering species utilized for nectar, characteristics, and number of individuals seen in each area. Amazilia yucatanensis showed higher use of ornithophilous flowers. Significant results found: f-ratio 5.45 > p-value (0.05) 3.24. Two highly utilized species showed the expected 20–40% sucrose content expected in ornithophilous flowers. Population density per …

Mobile Appointment Reminders In Patient-Centered Care: Design And Evaluation, Ying Wang

Theses and Dissertations

Reminder systems have great potential to enhance healthcare outcome if it can facilitate collaborative appointment management with accessible mobile communication technology in patient-centered care. Yet, Current appointment reminder systems are effective but not optimal (McLean, et al. 2016). Following the design science process delineated by Peffers et al. (2007) and other requirements, this study proposes a design of reciprocal reminder system that automates the process of appointment rescheduling for healthcare providers and patients in addition to confirmation and cancellation. Based on the premises of media synchronicity theory, media naturalness theory and stakeholder theory as kernel theories, this study develops a …

Sequencing Of The Complete Mitochondrial Genome Of Anastrepha Species, Francisco C. Rugama Ii

Theses and Dissertations

Several members of fruit flies in the vastly diverse Anastrepha (Schinner) genus (family Tephritidae), considered to be among the most important and devastating pests of vegetable and fruit crops, are distributed widely throughout the Americas. They attack several different kinds of fruit including citrus, which is of great economical importance in South Texas. The identification of these flies is based primarily on wing pattern and characteristics of the female genitalia, contrary to males, which cannot be distinguished at all. Misidentification of adults is a widespread problem, while identification at the larval stage is practically impossible. Currently, there are no published …

Boricua Type: Intersectional Hybrid Transcultural Art Concepts And Illustrations, Isaac Santiago

Theses and Dissertations

The concepts and artworks contained in this thesis embodies most of the research that I did in and outside the University. My particular experiences as a Puerto Rican, born and raised, and as a migrant artist in Mexico and Texas. Most of the research was made by trail and error independently or with little to no guidance. In conclusion I found my artistic self: technically, personally, and reached a high level of commitment to our community as a prepared professional.