Digital Commons Network^™

Performance Improvement Of An Electronic Nose And Tongue System, Po-Yu Chou

Open Access Theses

Environmental pollution is a matter of serious concern and monitoring needs to be improved. In this research, we focused on how to improve the performance of an integrated sensor system for detecting environmental contaminants. The system we investigated is the electronic nose and tongue system, which is designed to emulate human chemosensory system. The system is capable of detecting pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ammonia and carbon dioxide in the air, and arsenic (As(III)) in the water.

Optimizing Strength And Versatility Of Underwater Adhesion Polymer System, Shannon R. Daily

Open Access Theses

Among the hundreds of commercial adhesives available today, few, if any, have the ability to form strong adhesive bonds in an underwater system. Man-made adhesives have been shown to not work underwater because the glues interact with water rather than forming adhesive and cohesive bonds with the surface of the substrate. However, mussels and oysters naturally produce an adhesive that is unaffected by their watery environment. Examination of this adhesive has shown that shellfish use a mixture of proteins containing 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) that crosslink to form glue. Thus, an effort has been made to create a biomimetic polymer that includes …

Looking For A Reason: An Exploration Of Why Students Empathize With Some Characters Over Others, Ariel Cornelissen

Open Access Theses

In this study, 8th grade Language Arts students read the young adult novel, Torn. The study then looked to explain why the students empathized with some characters in the novel over others and the implications the findings could have in regards to classroom practice. The objective of the research was to develop an understanding of why students empathize with particular characters over others in order to inform future studies of empathy development in adolescents. In order to achieve this, the study employed the methodologies of grounded theory and action research to build upon the existing literature about empathy and young …

A Study On Understanding The Creation Of Component Maintenance Manual Using Model-Based Definition, Akshob Dasaiah Aravind

Open Access Theses

The use of Model-based definition (MBD) over 2D drawings is slowly becoming a reality in most organizations. The MBD models are intended to replace drawings in all downstream processes including technical publication. Technical authors have for long relied on engineering drawings as one of the inputs to create maintenance manuals. There exists no frameworks or models that can help define the contents of an MBD dataset for creation of maintenance manuals. The intent of this study was to develop one such model specific to creation of Component Maintenance Manuals (CMMs). A survey and an optional follow-up interview was used to …

Nanosecond Electric Pulse Induced Changes Of Mammalian Cell Suspension Conductivity In Real Time, Andrew J. Fairbanks

Open Access Theses

Electric pulses (EPs) have been used for many biological applications from electrochemotherapy to wound healing. While conventional techniques use microsecond to millisecond pulses, more recent techniques use nanosecond EPs (NSEPs) with a much higher amplitude. Generally, the longer duration pulses fully charge the plasma membrane to permeabilize it in a process called electroporation. NSEPs fully charge the smaller intracellular organelles to enable the manipulation of intracellular function; however, they still partially charge the membrane to permeabilize it to facilitate the transport of smaller ions. Experiments have demonstrated this motion using dyes and long-term (on the order of minutes) electrical measurements. …

Above- And Belowground Community Responses To Control Techniques For The Invasive Shrub Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera Maackii [Rupr.] Herder) In Mixed Hardwood Forests Of Indiana 0028199836, Graham S. Frank

Open Access Theses

Invasive shrubs in forest understories represent a threat to biodiversity and forest regeneration in the Eastern United States. Lonicera maackii [Rupr.] Herder (Amur honeysuckle, Caprifoliaceae) is a prevalent invasive shrub species in the Midwest, and has been documented in more than 30 states. Once a handful of established L. maackii shrubs reach maturity, prolific fruit production and extensive dispersal by wildlife can lead to explosive population growth and the formation of dense, monotypic thickets across wide areas of forested land. Light limitation, changes to soil nutrient cycling, increased throughfall interception, cascading effects on wildlife (e.g., increased rates of seed predation), …

Data Clustering Techniques To Identify User Groups And Resource Grouping In Nanohub, Mugdha Gogte

Open Access Theses

With a massive increase in the number of online resources for education and research, it is important to study their usage by target audience comprised mainly of students, educators and researchers. This study explores the application of data clustering techniques on user access data of online science platforms in order to detect user groups and categorize resources with the aim of finding evidence that nanoHUB, the largest science gateway in the field of nanotechnology, aids educational advancement and research. Several algorithms are examined to find the best-suited algorithm for the data set in question. The study uses a two-stage methodology …

Examining The Individual- And Community-Level Effects Of Natural And Anthropogenic Stressors On Larval Amphibians, Samantha J. Gallagher

Open Access Theses

Both natural and anthropogenic stressors are encountered regularly in nature. Predators and pathogens are fundamental components of ecological communities, while chemical contamination commonly enters aquatic environments via drift or runoff. The presence of each of these stressors may have individual-or community-level impacts. Individuals may be forced to make physiological tradeoffs upon exposure to stress that can be addressed through metabolic rate. Examining metabolic rate provides insight into energy allocation, a process that may be altered by the addition of a stressor. I examined how two stressors, the pathogen ranavirus and the pesticide carbaryl, affected the metabolic rates of larval amphibians. …

Evaluation Of Alkalis, Buffers, And Complementary Fiber Feeds To Increase Digestibility And Performance In Feedlot Steers Fed Corn Stover, Nicholas Allan Lancaster

Open Access Theses

The use of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) has been shown to limit fiber digestibility due to the inherent acidity of the feedstuff. Three studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of alkalis, buffers and complimentary fiber feeds on ruminal pH, fiber digestibility, and animal performance. The first study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of calcium hydroxide (StoverCal; Ca(OH)2) and/or roughage on diet digestibility, performance and carcass characteristics of steers fed 60% DDGS. The addition of StoverCal to low corn silage diets, or the addition of corn silage or corn stover to a 60% DDGS ration did not …

A Method For Assessing And Predicting Water Quality Status For Improved Decision- Making And Management, Valeria Mijares

Open Access Theses

With the increasing population and demand for water, it is crucial to be able to assess its quality on a real-time basis and for predictive purposes. Water-quality Indices (WQIs) provide a means by which the water quality can be compared across space and time based on a composite indicator. Index and subindex values can be used to flag contaminants of concern, guide prioritization of management efforts, and for predictive purposes. In this study, subindex formulations for key water quality parameters were developed and enhanced to incorporate water quality targets and criteria. The enhanced subindex formulations were built into the Unweighted …

Effects Of Dietary Pectin And Threonine Concentrations On The Growth Performance, Digestibility And Intestinal Morphology Of Broiler Chickens, Yu Shi

Open Access Theses

The experiment was conducted to determine the effect of dietary threonine (Thr) concentration and dietary pectin and the interaction effects of dietary pectin and dietary Thr concentrations on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and intestinal morphology of broiler chickens from d 7 to 21 posthatch. Ten diets with five levels of dietary Thr concentration of 5.7, 7.6, 9.4, 11.3, 13.2 g/kg, representing 60, 80, 100, 120, 140%, respectively, of the Thr requirement suggested by Ross Nutrition Supplement (2009), and two levels of dietary pectin (0 and 7%) were fed to broiler chickens from d 7 to d 21 posthatch in a …

Inclusion Of Antibiotic Alternatives In Feedlot Cattle Diets: Impact On Health Status, Cattle Performance And Meat Quality, Josey Pukrop

Open Access Theses

Although antibiotics are effective at diminishing the incidence of both bovine respiratory disease and digestive disorders and can promote growth in feedlot cattle, public scrutiny and concerns about antibiotic resistance are driving the cattle industry away from their use in production. Natural antibiotic alternatives derived from plants, bacteria and yeasts are increasing in popularity for use in cattle feeding operations.

In this thesis, the effect of a yeast cell wall product on performance and health status of receiving steers was examined and the effect of supplementing an essential oils blend on finishing cattle performance, liver abscess incidence, carcass characteristics and …

An Empirical Analysis Of The Farm Bill And The Impact Of A Seat On The United States Senate Agriculture Committee, Shelby Ellen Swain

Open Access Theses

The purpose of this study is to do a thorough investigation of what influences farm program payments for a state by examining the United States farm bill and the impact of having a seat on the United States Senate Agriculture Committee. Specifically, this study explores the empirical aspects of the farm bill to determine the most influential factors in the creation of a farm bill, and investigates the impact a political position holds on farm program payments at the state level. This thesis can be used as a foundational understanding of the farm bill, as well as provide insight into …

Swi/Snf Chromatin Remodeling Complexes In Porcine Embryos, Yu-Chun Tseng

Open Access Theses

Gene expression is under precise regulation during early mammalian embryonic development. Epigenetic modifications are a major aspect of studying gene expression. SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes are large multiprotein complexes, which can reposition nucleosomes and alter transcription factor accessibility to DNA. Subunits of SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes play essential roles in development by guiding the complexes to specific loci. The aims of this study were to 1) determine the function of ARID1A, a SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex subunit during cleavage development in the porcine embryo and 2) determine the intracellular localization of four SWI/SNF subunits, ARID1A, ARID2, BRD7, and SNF5, in …

Metabolic Engineering For Aromatic Amino Acids In Cyanobacteria, Jeremiah Vue

Open Access Theses

Phenylalanine and tryptophan are valuable chemicals in the beverage, pharmaceutical and animal feed industries. Currently, engineered heterotrophic microorganisms produce phenylalanine and tryptophan from carbon sources, such as sugars. As an alternative production strategy, we are investigating photosynthetic cyanobacteria to produce aromatic amino acids from CO2. We are combining directed and evolutionary approaches. Initially, we performed chemical mutagenesis on the cyanobacteria strains Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 and Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and selected colonies for resistance to tryptophan (Trp) or phenylalanine (Phe) analogs. The resistant colonies were subsequently screened for overproduction of the aromatic amino acids. The mutants resistant to phenylalanine …

Direct Extraction Spray Analysis Of Lipid Biomarkers In Injury Rat Spinal Cord, Pengqing Yu

Open Access Theses

Lipids are crucial components of our bodies, not only as the building component of the cell membrane, but also as signaling molecules and an energy storing unit. The study of lipids may bring great improvement for life science. Moreover, lipids may also be a key factor in many diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and neural diseases.1 Qualitative and quantitative lipid analysis of infected tissue is very important when uncovering the cause and mechanism of disease, and can therefore bring great success for the development of diagnosis and treatment of disease.

In this research, we used a photochemical reaction to help …

Novel Polymer/Bioactive Glass Composites For Bone Regenerative Engineering, Jessica Zuponcic

Open Access Theses

Bone-grafting procedures are necessary when injury to the bone, due to trauma or disease, surpasses the bone’s ability to auto-repair. These injuries are known as critical-sized defects. Using graft material from the patient’s own body, autografting, risks donor site morbidity and is size-limited [1, 2]. Using graft material from a donor or cadaver, allografting, carries some risk of disease transmission and availability is insufficient to meet demand [1]. These challenges have necessitated the development and use of bone graft substitutes which, ideally, can match the structural and mechanical properties of native bone and promote osteogenic differentiation of host cells – …

Mentoring Experiences In Medical Education: A Phenomenographic Study Among American Indian Medical Students And Those In Residency, Naomi M. Bender

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to better understand how currently enrolled American Indian (AI) medical students and recently graduated physicians in residency experienced mentoring during medical school. This study consisted of 19 participant-recorded interviews that were later transcribed, analyzed, and coded for thematic outcomes. Participants were all current AI medical students in the same Northern Midwest Medical School (NMMS) in years one, two, three, or four, or they were recent AI graduate physicians from the same institution and were in years one or two of residency. The theoretical frameworks that guided this research were Kalbfleisch’s Mentoring Enactment …

Faculty Experiences With Instructional Innovations: A Phenomenological Study Of Faculty Use Of Instructional Video, Timothy Patrick Oneal

Theses and Dissertations

Colleges and universities create learning environments that strive to optimize strengths and minimize weaknesses of learners. Media rich environments have changed the current generation of learners just as it is now changing higher education. There is currently a need to examine the experiences and perceptions of instructors when adopting innovations such as instructional videos for use in their media enriched curriculum delivery. This study used a phenomenological approach to discover why and how faculty at a 4-year public university use the innovation of instructional video in their classrooms. The phenomenon studied was the adoption process and the motivation of the …

Blast-Induced Traumatic Brain Injury And Subsequent Susceptibility To Parkinson's Disease, Glen G. Acosta

Open Access Dissertations

The prevalence of blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI) is steadily increasing due to escalated terror activities and constitutes the signature injury associated with the current military conflicts. Specifically, a mild-bTBI is the most common injury encountered by our military personnel. This type of injury presents a problem because the individual is initially asymptomatic and functional. Increasing studies have suggested that this type of injury may produce long-term neurological consequences that affect the resilience and the performance of soldiers both on and off the battlefield. One such example is an increased susceptibility to Parkinson’s disease (PD) by as many as three …

Turning A Multivalent Lens Toward Depictions Of Artificial Intelligence (Ai) In Film, Ashley Ann Albrecht

Open Access Dissertations

With innovations in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) advancing at an exponential rate, it is ever the more pertinent to interrogate the ramifications and potentialities of these developments. Luciano Floridi, known as “the Google philosopher,” considers this phenomenon an integral part of the digital information age or the “Fourth Revolution.” We are now forced to confront the following problems: What is the relationship between humans and AI? What does it mean to be “human”? What futures are possible given our current coevolution with AI? Such questions motivate close philosophical consideration. Here, the theoretical polarization of the doomsday neo-Luddite versus …

Elucidating The Biosynthetic Routes And Biological Mechanisms Involved In The Release Of Phenylpropanoid/Benzenoid Volatiles From Plant Cells, Funmilayo Adebesin

Open Access Dissertations

Sessile organisms, such as plants, have developed intricate means of responding and interacting with their environment in order to grow, reproduce, and survive environmental stresses such as attacks by other organisms and competition for resources with neighboring organisms. Plant volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play vital roles in resolving these evolutionary constraints associated with the sedentary nature of plants by attracting pollinators and seed dispersers necessary for reproduction. VOCs also mediate plant-plant interactions and provide defense against biotic stresses (pathogens, predators, and herbivores) and abiotic stresses (oxidative stress, high temperature stress, drought). Beyond the importance of VOCs to plants, humans have …

Fish Consumption And Accessibility And The Implications For Household Nutrition And Food Security In Ghana And Tanzania, Akua Sakyiabea Akuffo

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation empirically investigates aquaculture adoption on food security, fish demand and fish accessibility in Ghana and Tanzania. There are three separate chapters, each discussing a specific issue relating to food security and fish consumption. Data for chapters two and three are from the round 6 of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS6) while chapter four uses the Household Budget Survey (HBS) for Tanzania.

The second chapter of this dissertation applies the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) approach in logit and probit frameworks to a cross section of 4,011 Ghanaian households, to analyze how fish farming is associated with household food …

Wheat-Hessian Fly Interactions: Fitness Costs And Phenotypic Characterizations, Verónica A. Campos Medina

Open Access Dissertations

The Hessian fly-wheat relationship and its genetic tractability offer us a good system to address different questions that can help to improve not only the strategies used to control this pest, but also our understanding of the insect-plant relationship. Thus, taking advantage of these features in this study I examined the fitness cost of the loss of function of a virulence gene and I made a phenotypic characterization of this insect-host relationship. First, this thesis has an introductory part, chapter one, presenting background information about the Hessian fly-wheat interaction. Chapter two explores an allele competition approach to detect fitness costs …

Effects Of Calcium Hydroxide Treated Corn Stover Inclusion As A Partial Forage Replacement In Diets For Lactating Dairy Cows, Brittany Casperson

Open Access Dissertations

There is a large quantity of harvestable corn stover available in the United States. Due to the high maturity at harvest and subsequent low digestibility, the use of corn stover as a livestock feedstuff is limited. Several treatment and processing strategies have been explored in order to increase yield of fermentable sugars and lessen the limitation of corn stover as a feedstuff. Alkaline pretreatment has been applied to enhance the digestibility of low quality feeds, improve the feeding value, and permit use in livestock rations. The central hypothesis of this dissertation is that calcium hydroxide treatment would improve the feeding …

Design And Synthesis Of Molybdenum-Dioxo Complexes And The Development Of Novel Methodologies, Kelsey Cantwell

Open Access Dissertations

Molybdenum-centered enzymes occur naturally throughout a variety of organisms. These enzymes have shown interesting reactivities, including oxygen atom transfer reactions. As such, there has been a great deal of interest in creating synthetic analogs of these complexes to further probe the reactive properties of molybdenum catalysts. This work focuses on designing and synthesizing molybdenum complexes for oxygen atom transfer reactions. The first chapter will discuss the design, synthesis, and characterization of three molybdenum dioxo complexes used in sulfoxidation reactions. It will also discuss the development of this reaction methodology, as well as cover substrate scope and application to total synthesis …

Border Relations: A Bioarchaeological Lnvestigation Of The Xiongnu Polity, Jeremy J. Beach

Open Access Dissertations

The Xiongnu were the first mobile pastoralist steppe polity to rise up from the Mongolian Steppe. Previous scholarship attributed the emergence of the Xiongnu to their peripheral location and interactions with sedentary China. It was argued that a polity the size of the Xiongnu could not be sustained on a pastoral economy, therefore they turned their attention to interactions with China to fuel their economic and political growth outside of the steppe. This line of thought has come to be known as Dependency Theory and food was at the center of this dependency argument. The expansion of a pastoral economy …

Developing And Measuring Effectiveness Of A New Evidence-Based Grain Storage And Handling Safety Curriculum Targeting Young And Beginning Workers, Yuan-Hsin Cheng

Open Access Dissertations

Research was conducted on the development, testing, and implementation of an original, evidence-based curriculum (Against the Grain) designed to reduce the frequency and severity of the most frequent types of injuries and fatalities involving young and beginning workers, ages 14-20, at grain storage and handling operations. This population has historically accounted for approximately 24% of documented entrapments, engulfments, asphyxiations, entanglements, falls, and electrocutions associated with grain handling and storage. This includes incidents during both workrelated and non-work or recreational activities. Curriculum contents were based upon data summarized from Purdue’s Agricultural Confined Spaces Incident Database (PACSID), review of relevant injury prevention …

Exploiting Science: Enhancing The Safety Training Of Pilots To Reduce The Risk Of Bird Strikes, Flavio A.C. Mendonca

Open Access Dissertations

Analysis of bird strikes to aviation in the U.S. from 1990 to 2015 indicate that the successful mitigation efforts at airports, which must be sustained, have reduced incidents with damage and a negative effect-on-flight since 2000. However, such efforts have done little to reduce strikes outside the airport jurisdiction, such as occurred with US Airways Flight 1549 in 2009. There are basically three strategies to mitigate the risk of bird strikes: standards set by aviation authorities, technology, and actions by crewmembers. Pilots play an important role as stakeholders in the prevention of bird strikes, especially outside the airport environment. Thus, …

Learning Electron Transport Chain Process In Photosynthesis Using Video And Serious Game, Cecilia Espinoza Morales

Open Access Dissertations

This research investigates students' learning about the electron transport chain (ETC) process in photosynthesis by watching a video followed by playing a serious board game-Electron Chute- that models the ETC process. To accomplish this goal, several learning outcomes regarding the misconceptions students' hold about photosynthesis and the ETC process in photosynthesis were defined. Middle school students need opportunities to develop cohesive models that explain the mechanistic processes of biological systems to support their learning. A six-week curriculum on photosynthesis included a one day learning activity using an ETC video and the Electron Chute game to model the ETC process. The …