Digital Commons Network^™

Multi-Scale Studies To Develop A Holistic Understanding Of Solid Fuel Combustion At Residential Scale, Sameer Patel

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Nearly 3 billion people rely on solid fuels for their cooking and heating needs, classifying them as “energy poor”. This poverty can be attributed to several factors, including a lack of resources (fuel), inefficient infrastructure (production and distribution), limited purchasing power (poverty), and ill-devised policies. Solid fuels, such as biomass, coal, and dung cakes, are burned in inefficient cookstoves. They generate products of incomplete combustion (PIC), such as CO, particulate matter (PM), and CH4, causing household air pollution (HAP) whose adverse impacts on both health and the environment have been well established.

HAP causes diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary …

Functional Bio-Nano Hybrids Through A Precise Control Of Interfacial Interactions At The Nanoscale, Sirimuvva Tadepalli

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

During the course of evolution, proteins have evolved to perform exquisite functions including structural support, signal transduction, actuation, sensing, catalysis, trafficking, gating, light-harvesting, charge transfer, molecular recognition, self-assembly, self-organization, or combinations of two or more of these functions. A precise control and manipulation of the structure and function of proteins is conceivable with the advent of nanotechnology, which has facilitated the integration of nanomaterials with functional biomolecules to realize bio-nano hybrids with synergistically enhanced functionalities.

At the genesis of bionanotechnology, a paucity in the fundamental understanding of the bio-nano interfaces is a grave impediment to the progress of the field. …

Development Of In Vitro Drug Screening Platforms Using Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiovascular Cells, Yosuke Kurokawa

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Drug-induced cardiotoxicity is a critical challenge in the development of new drugs. Since the advent of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs), researchers have explored ways to utilize these cells for in vitro preclinical drug screening applications. One area of interest is microphysiological systems (i.e. organ-on-a-chip), which aims to create more complex in vitro models of human organ systems, thus improving drug response predictions. In this dissertation, we investigated novel analysis methods and model platforms for detecting drug-induced cardiotoxicity using human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiovascular cells.

First, we utilized human iPSC-derived CMs (iPS-CMs) to establish optical methods of …

Extrinsic And Intrinsic Control Of Integrative Processes In Neural Systems, Anirban Nandi

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

At the simplest dynamical level, neurons can be understood as integrators. That is, neurons accumulate excitation from afferent neurons until, eventually, a threshold is reached and they produce a spike. Here, we consider the control of integrative processes in neural circuits in two contexts. First, we consider the problem of extrinsic neurocontrol, or modulating the spiking activity of neural circuits using stimulation, as is desired in a wide range of neural engineering applications. From a control-theoretic standpoint, such a problem presents several interesting nuances, including discontinuity in the dynamics due to the spiking process, and the technological limitations associated with …

Phyllium (Phyllium) Brossardi Sp. Nov. (Phasmida, Phylliidae), A New Species Of Leaf Insect From Northern Borneo, Royce T. Cumming, Stéphane Le Tirant, Sierra N. Teemsma

Insecta Mundi

A new species of leaf insect, Phyllium (Phyllium) brossardi Cumming, Le Tirant, and Teemsma, new species (Phasmida, Phylliidae), is described from a series of three males. A key to males of the currently known species from the siccifolium species group from Borneo is provided.

The Effects Of A Mandatory Body-Worn Camera Policy On Officer Perceptions Of Accountability, Oversight, And Departmental Culture, Jordan M. Hyatt, Renee J. Mitchell, Barak Ariel

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Species Specificity Between Ectoparasites And Rats In Monteverde, Costa Rica, December 15, 2017, Kathy Dao

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

To determine if there is species specificity between ectoparasites and their host rats, I set up Sherman traps in various locations in Monteverde to capture rats. Once I obtained the rats I removed any ectoparasites present and observed them under a dissecting microscope for morphological characteristics. Species specificity is defined for this study as the prevalence of a certain type of ectoparasite to a specific species of rat. From my results, I determined that there is species specificity between ectoparasites and their host rats. Lice were species specific to the Cloud-dwelling Spiny Pocket Mouse, fleas to the Mexican Deer Mouse, …

Youth Sport Development Pathways And Experiences Of Ncaa Division I Women's College Soccer Players, Emily Hardell

Master's Theses

As youth sport has become increasingly professionalized, many believe that the route to elite level play is through early specialization. Early specialization is a contentious issue, and many risk factors have been associated with high levels and intensities of training in youth. Youth today participate in highly competitive sport in pursuit of elite levels of play, recognition, and financial gain. Early specialization is thought to be a requirement for advancement, yet little is known about the early experiences of team sport athletes who grew up in the US. This is the story of 15 elite female athletes who “made it” …

Eductional Persistence In Latino Male Students Attending University: Their Experiences And Identity Development, Michelle Swartz

Master's Theses

Because Latino male students have lower graduation rates from high school and postsecondary institutions than other demographic groups have, this qualitative research study examined the psychosocial experiences that influence the development of educational persistence. To this end, eight Latino male undergraduate students, who are also low-income and first-generation students at San José State University, participated in semi-structured interviews in which they discussed their identities and school experiences. An analysis of the eight interviews shows how these students made meaning of their education, gender identity, and ethnicity. The constant comparative method for analyzing interview transcripts revealed the following themes: (a) the …

Synthesis, Characterization, And Spectroscopy Of Donor-Acceptor Charge Transfer Complexes, Dominic Kofi Kersi

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

A series of square-planar metal (diimine)(dichalcogenolene) chromophoric complexes have been synthesized, characterized and studied spectroscopically. Studies conducted on diimineplatinum(II) dichalcogenolene complexes (LPtL’) using time resolved spectroscopic techniques such as transient absorption and emission, reveal a charge-separated excited state of the type dichalcogenolene → diimine charge-transfer (LL’CT) [(dichalcogenolene^•+)Pt(diimine^•-) with an open shell donor-acceptor biradical character. This makes the low-energy ligand-to-ligand charge-transfer (LL’CT), or the mixed-metal ligand-to-ligand charge-transfer (MMLL’CT), transitions of diimineplatinum(II) dichalcogenolene complexes particularly interesting to us in facilitating our knowledge of biradical charge-separated states. Long-live excited state lifetimes were observed for these complexes upon visible photoexcitation …

An Examination Of Household Food Security’S Measurement, Report And Experience By Gender, Jaime Foster

Doctoral Dissertations

Food insecurity, defined as the inability to access sufficient food for an active, healthy life, affects 14.3 percent of United States. Food Security (FS) has been measured annually using the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Household Food Security Module (HFSM) since the 1990s; however, responses to this self-report measure may vary by household member. Thus, this study aims to 1) determine how gender is related to differences in interpretation and report of FS using the HFSM; 2) determine if gender is related to interpretation of terms relevant to FS measurement, and; 3) pilot test a qualitative technique novel to the …

Genome Evolution In Najas And Hydrilla (Hydrocharitaceae)., Ursula King

Doctoral Dissertations

Archival abstract submitted

Effects Of Carbon Dioxide On Turkey Poult Performance And Behavior, M G.L Candido, Y Xiong, R S. Gates, I F.F. Tinoco, K W. Koelkebeck

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Appropriate ventilation of poultry facilities is critical for achieving optimum performance. Ventilation promotes good air exchange to remove harmful gases, excessive heat, moisture, and particulate matter. In a turkey brooder barn, carbon dioxide (CO₂) may be present at higher levels during the winter due to reduced ventilation rates to maintain high temperatures. This higher CO₂ may negatively affect turkey poult performance. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of subjecting tom turkey poults (commercial Large White Hybrid Converters) to different constant levels of atmospheric CO₂ on their growth performance and behavior. In …

Data From: Target Sequence Capture Of Nuclear-Encoded Genes For Phylogenetic Analysis In Ferns, Paul G. Wolf, Tanner A. Robison, Matthew G. Johnson, Michael A. Sundue, Weston L. Testo, Carl J. Rothfels

Browse all Datasets

Premise of the study: Until recently, most phylogenetic studies of ferns were based on chloroplast genes. Evolutionary inferences based on these data can be incomplete because the characters are from a single linkage group and are uniparentally inherited. These limitations are particularly acute in studies of hybridization, which is prevalent in ferns; fern hybrids are common and ferns are able to hybridize across highly diverged lineages, up to 60 million years since divergence in one documented case. However, it not yet clear what effect such hybridization has on fern evolution, in part due to a paucity of available biparentally inherited …

The Future Of Nuclear Security In Moroccan Territory After The Creation Of The New Moroccan Agency Of Nuclear And Radiological Safety And Security: Opportunities And Challenges, Amal Touarsi, Amina Kharchaf

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Nowadays, a security regime for protecting nuclear and radiological material—providing an intelligent national regulatory institution and establishing national security laws—is necessary in order for a state to ensure security of nuclear and radiological materials used within its borders.

This paper focuses on discussing the opportunities and challenges facing the future of nuclear security after the creation of the new Moroccan Agency of Nuclear and Radiological Safety and Security.

Context-Dependent Chemosensory Signaling, Aggression And Neural Activation Patterns In Gravid Female African Cichlid Fish, Karen E. Field, Karen P. Maruska

Faculty Publications

© 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd . Social animals must constantly assess their environment to make appropriate behavioral decisions. The use of various sensory modalities is imperative in this process and it is hypothesized that the highly conserved brain nuclei comprising the social decisionmaking network (SDMN) integrates social information with an animal's internal state to elicit behavioral responses. Here, we used the highly social African cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni, to investigate whether reproductively receptive (gravid) females show contextual chemosensory signaling, social behaviors and neural activation patterns within the SDMN. We exposed gravid females to different social contexts: …

Global Awakening Of Cryptic Biosynthetic Gene Clusters In Burkholderia Thailandensis, Ashish Gupta, Renesh Bedre, Sudarshan Singh Thapa, Afsana Sabrin, Guannan Wang, Maheshi Dassanayake, Anne Grove

Faculty Publications

© 2017 American Chemical Society. Many bacteria encode biosynthetic proteins that produce a vast array of natural products. These compounds are often synthesized during host invasion as they function as virulence factors. In addition, such secondary metabolites have yielded numerous molecular scaffolds with pharmaceutical and clinical importance. The gene clusters that encode proteins responsible for synthesis of these compounds are typically silenced or "cryptic" under laboratory growth conditions, hampering discovery of novel lead compounds. We report here that MftR is a global repressor of secondary metabolite synthesis in Burkholderia thailandensis and that urate functions as a physiologically relevant inducer of …

Characterization Of Pathogenic Vibrio Parahaemolyticus From The Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, Arlene J. Chen, Nur A. Hasan, Bradd J. Haley, Elisa Taviani, Mitch Tarnowski, Kathy Brohawn, Crystal N. Johnson, Rita R. Colwell, Anwar Huq

Faculty Publications

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis associated with seafood consumption in the United States. Here we investigated the presence of virulence factors and genetic diversity of V. parahaemolyticus isolated from water, oyster, and sediment samples from the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland. Of more than 2,350 presumptive Vibrio collected, more than half were confirmed through PCR as V. parahaemolyticus, with 10 encoding both tdh and trh and 6 encoding only trh. Potentially pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus were then serotyped with O1:KUT and O3:KUT predominant. Furthermore, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis was performed and the constructed dendrogram displayed high diversity, as did results …

Post-Representational Presence: Disruptive Actions & Visibility Politics In New Media, Christian Hendricks

Theses and Dissertations

This text is a written component to a master’s thesis in the fine arts. It is a research-intensive text that conventionally examines contemporary conditions of politics and modes of representation, and analyzes the most innovative artists and visual producers working in these areas. However, the text also includes exercise modules with “challenges” for the reader, similar to a textbook. In the modules, the examples provided are works of my own. I also include text, images, and documentation of my own work from my MFA thesis exhibition.

A Guatemalan Trans Woman Navigates New York City In Hopes Of A Better Future, Manolo Morales

Capstones

Jamileeth, 25, is a trans woman from Guatemala. She's been in New York City for about 3 months. Before coming to NYC, she spent 26 days in a detention center in Cibola, New Mexico. Today she is navigating her way in the Big Apple to seek asylum.

Link to capstone: https://medium.com/@manolo.morales/a-guatemalan-tans-woman-navigates-new-york-city-in-hopes-of-a-better-life-bdfc5796f9d4

Type 2 Neural Progenitor Cell Activation Drives Reactive Neurogenesis After Binge-Like Alcohol Exposure In Adolescent Male Rats, Chelsea Rhea Geil Nickell, Hui Peng, Dayna M. Hayes, Kevin Y. Chen, Justin A. Mcclain, Kimberly Nixon

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Excessive alcohol consumption during adolescence remains a significant health concern as alcohol drinking during adolescence increases the likelihood of an alcohol use disorder in adulthood by fourfold. Binge drinking in adolescence is a particular problem as binge-pattern consumption is the biggest predictor of neurodegeneration from alcohol and adolescents are particularly susceptible to the damaging effects of alcohol. The adolescent hippocampus, in particular, is highly susceptible to alcohol-induced structural and functional effects, including volume and neuron loss. However, hippocampal structure and function may recover with abstinence and, like in adults, a reactive burst in hippocampal neurogenesis in abstinence may contribute to …

Simulation Based Post-Partum Hemorrhage Training In Nigeria: A Pilot Project, Nneka Chukwu

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity among childbearing women globally (Ononge, Mirembe, Wandabwa, & Campbell, 2016). Although this outcome is preventable, it remains a significant cause of death among women, especially in underdeveloped countries. This paper examines an educational project that was aimed to increase the knowledge of student midwives and registered midwives in a rural academic setting in Nigeria.

Methods: A one-day educational pilot training which consisted of a didactic component and a case-based simulation training focused on identifying risk factors, assessment techniques, and management protocols for the PPH patient. There were …

Accurate Determination And Application Of Local Strain For Studying Tissues With Gradients In Mechanical Properties, John Boyle

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Determination of the mechanical behavior of materials requires an understanding of deformation during loading. While this is traditionally accomplished in engineering by examining a force displacement curve for a whole sample, these techniques implicitly ignore local geometric complexities and local material inhomogeneities commonly found in biologic tissues. Techniques such as normalized cross correlation have been classically applied to address this issue and resolve deformation at the local level; however, these techniques have proven unreliable when deformations become large, if the sample undergoes a rotation, and/or if strain fields become incompatible (e.g. at or near failure).

Presented here is a toolbox …

System Characterizations And Optimized Reconstruction Methods For Novel X-Ray Imaging, Huifeng Guan

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

In the past decade there have been many new emerging X-ray based imaging technologies developed for different diagnostic purposes or imaging tasks. However, there exist one or more specific problems that prevent them from being effectively or efficiently employed. In this dissertation, four different novel X-ray based imaging technologies are discussed, including propagation-based phase-contrast (PB-XPC) tomosynthesis, differential X-ray phase-contrast tomography (D-XPCT), projection-based dual-energy computed radiography (DECR), and tetrahedron beam computed tomography (TBCT). System characteristics are analyzed or optimized reconstruction methods are proposed for these imaging modalities. In the first part, we investigated the unique properties of propagation-based phase-contrast imaging technique …

System Optimization And Iterative Image Reconstruction In Photoacoustic Computed Tomography For Breast Imaging, Yang Lou

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Photoacoustic computed tomography(PACT), also known as optoacoustic tomography (OAT), is an emerging imaging technique that has developed rapidly in recent years. The combination of the high optical contrast and the high acoustic resolution of this hybrid imaging technique makes it a promising candidate for human breast imaging, where conventional imaging techniques including X-ray mammography, B-mode ultrasound, and MRI suffer from low contrast, low specificity for certain breast types, and additional risks related to ionizing radiation. Though significant works have been done to push the frontier of PACT breast imaging, it is still challenging to successfully build a PACT breast imaging …

Image Reconstruction Of The Speed Of Sound And Initial Pressure Distributions In Ultrasound Computed Tomography And Photoacoustic Computed Tomography, Thomas Paul Matthews

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Ultrasound computed tomography (USCT) and photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) are two emerging imaging modalities that have a wide range of potential applications from pre-clinical small animal imaging to cancer screening in human subjects. USCT is typically employed to measure acoustic contrasts, including the speed of sound (SOS) distribution, while PACT typically measures optical contrasts or some related quantity such as the initial pressure distribution. Their complementary contrasts and similar implementations make USCT and PACT a natural fit for a hybrid imaging system. Still, much work remains to realize this promise. First, USCT image reconstruction methods based on the acoustic wave …

Reconstruction Algorithms For Novel Joint Imaging Techniques In Pet, Homayoon Ranjbar

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Positron emission tomography (PET) is an important functional in vivo imaging modality with many clinical applications. Its enormously wide range of applications has made both research and industry combine it with other imaging modalities such as X-ray computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The general purpose of this work is to study two cases in PET where the goal is to perform image reconstruction jointly on two data types.

The first case is the Beta-Gamma image reconstruction. Positron emitting isotopes, such as ¹¹C, ¹³N, and ¹⁸F, can be used to label molecules, and tracers, such …

Mechanics Of The Developing Brain: From Smooth-Walled Tube To The Folded Cortex, Kara Ellspermann Garcia

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Over the course of human development, the brain undergoes dramatic physical changes to achieve its final, convoluted shape. However, the forces underlying every cinch, bulge, and fold remain poorly understood. This doctoral research focuses on the mechanical processes responsible for early (embryonic) and late (preterm) brain development.

First, we examine early brain development in the chicken embryo, which is similar to human at these stages. Research has primarily focused on molecular signals to describe morphogenesis, but mechanical analysis can also provide important insights. Using a combination of experiments and finite element modeling, we find that actomyosin contraction is responsible for …

Binding Affinity And Specificity Of Sh2 Domain Interactions In Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Signaling Networks, Tom Ronan

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling mechanisms play a central role in intracellular signaling and control development of multicellular organisms, cell growth, cell migration, and programmed cell death. Dysregulation of these signaling mechanisms results in defects of development and diseases such as cancer. Control of this network relies on the specificity and selectivity of Src Homology 2 (SH2) domain interactions with phosphorylated target peptides. In this work, we review and identify the limitations of current quantitative understanding of SH2 domain interactions, and identify severe limitations in accuracy and availability of SH2 domain interaction data. We propose a framework to address some …

Touch Dna And Chemical Analysis Of Skin Trace Evidence: Protecting Privacy While Advancing Investigations, Mary Graw Leary

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Article addresses touch DNA, chemical analysis of skin traces, and the implications for crime scene investigation, arguing that changes in how trace evidence is analyzed require alterations in the law’s approach to its use. Part I discusses the history of traditional DNA analysis. Part II examines the emergence of touch DNA and related technologies and how they differ from traditional DNA analysis. Part III outlines the specific risks created by the collection and storing of results under the current outdated jurisprudence. Part IV focuses on specific risks to suspects and victims of crime. Part V proposes a legal framework …