Digital Commons Network^™

The Last Halloween, Aris Holmes

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

An Exploration in the processes that make up an animation;

An exploration of the origins of Halloween.

I Guess We Are All Different After All: A Children's Book, Angelica Renee Owen

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The project begins with the introduction and the intent of the project and of the children's book itself, and the literature supporting children's cognitive development and the steps required to write a children's book. The book is a story with the purpose of normalizing differences and diversity at an early age. Part D of the project is a companion to the book directed towards parents and teachers in order to continue the conversation with their children discussing diversity and normalizing them.

The Effects Of Aqueous Nitrate On Freshwater Crayfish, Erik Hartman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Globalization and a rising need for greater production from the agricultural system have increased the use of fertilizer by farms across the entire country. The purpose of this experiment was to observe the effects of aqueous nitrate (commonly found in many fertilizers) on the metabolic rate and hemolymph lactate concentration of freshwater crayfish. After exposure, there was no observed change in metabolic rate, but there was a significant decrease in hemolymph lactate concentration in the groups exposed to nitrate.

An Integrated Assessment Of The Potential Impacts Of Climate Change On Indiana Forests, Richard Phillips, Leslie Brandt, P. David Polly, Patrick A. Zollner, Michael Saunders, Keith Clay, Louis Iverson, Songlin Fei

Forest Publications

Forests provide myriad ecosystem services, many of which are vital to local and regional economies. Consequently, there is a need to better understand how predicted changes in climate will impact forests dynamics and the implications of such changes for society as a whole. Here we focus on the impacts of climate change on Indiana forests, which are representative of many secondary growth broadleaved forests in the greater Midwest region in terms of their land use history and current composition. We find that predicted changes in climate for the state – warmer and wetter winters/springs and hotter and potentially drier summers …

Are The Adverse Human Effects Of Air Pollution Underestimated In The Literature? Implications For Science, Medicine And Public Policy, Stephen Jay

Health Supplemental Files

Researchers have not addressed the question “Are the adverse human effects of air pollution underestimated in the literature?” and to date we lack an answer to it. This scan is a non-scientific review of diseases causally linked to air pollution and reported infrequently in the peer reviewed literature. I think a prospective study of the true estimate of mortality and morbidity and harm of air pollution would confirm current statistics upon which policy decisions are based are underestimated.

The Compass, Summer 2018

The Compass, 2018-

The Compass is an annual orientation guide for VCU students produced by the Student Media Collective in the VCU Student Media Centered. The guide is distributed physically during summer orientation sessions for new and transfer students. The publication includes short articles, illustrations, letters of welcome from students and administrators, comics, and advertisements from VCU and Richmond organizations.

Understanding How First-Generation College Students’ Out-Of-School Experiences, Physics And Stem Identities Relate To Engineering Possible Selves And Certainty Of Career Path, Dina Verdín, Allison Godwin, Gerhard Sonnert, Phillip M. Sadler

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

This full, research category study examines how out-of-school experiences in Grades 9-12 predict first-generation college students’ engineering possible selves and certainty of career path. The data for this study came from a large-scale survey on outreach programs which was distributed in first- semester English courses to capture an array of responses from students interested in STEM and non-STEM careers. We used structural equation modeling to examine a set of hypotheses: 1) out-of-school experiences would be mediated by interest and recognition in physics and STEM and no direct effect will be found for out-of-school experiences on physics and STEM identities, 2) …

Intersection Of Art And Science Ii, Petronio Bendito, Tim Korb

Lawson Building Exhibitions on the Intersection of Art and Science

The Intersection of Art and Science exhibition is an interdisciplinary educational project that examines a wide range of expressive approaches explored by international artists working at the intersection of art, mathematics, computer science, and technology. It is a joint collaboration between the Department of Computer Science and the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts at Purdue University. Featured artists: Manuel Baez, Sarah Berube, Robert Bosch, Sage Jenson, Jean-Marc Castera, Marc Chamberland, Marion Chamberland, Laura De Decker, Bathsheba Grossman, Colin Liotta, Vincent J. Matsko, Kerry Mitchell, Janna Schimka, Rolf Schmuck, and Markus Schwehm. The exhibition was curated …

The Analysis Of Binary Fluid Ejector Assisted Solar Desalination System, Olexiy Buyadgie, Oleksii Drakhnia, Takahiko Miyazaki, Dmytro Buyadgie, Igor Vasil'ev, Shigeru Koyama

International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference

The proposed desalination technology represents the combined processes of distillation and congelation of seawater. While distilling runs at two-stage, the condensation heat of the distillate vapors is utilized for cold generation in the Binary Fluid Ejector Refrigeration System (BERS). The congelation process is organized with continuous heat recuperation that enables to mark up about 80% of the fresh water, produced by BERS. The system tolerates any type of seawater (30k ≤ TDS ≤ 100k) and operates with solar thermal heat of 338-356F. The integrated binary fluid ejector heat pump doubles the input of thermal energy at 248F, so the overall …

3d Direct Numerical Simulation Of Magneto-Caloric Regenerators, Ibai Mugica, Sebastien Poncet, Jonathan Bouchard

International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference

Magnetic refrigeration uses magnetic field changes to provoke a phase transition in solid Magneto-Caloric Materials (MCM). Then, using a Heat Transfer Fluid, a Brayton-like refrigeration cycle can be produced. Developing these kind of refrigerators is usually costly, due to the amount of rare earth materials needed for the permanent magnet and the MCM. In order to aid in better designing such machines, a 3D DNS solver was developed. The solver includes the simulation of four different physical phenomena: the magnetic field, fluid velocity field, temperature field, and the Magneto-Caloric Effect. To produce an efficient solver, collateral coupling mechanisms were studied …

A Point Sink Superposition Method For Predicting Droplet Interaction Effects During Vapor-Diffusion-Driven Dropwise Condensation In Humid Air, J. E. Castillo, J. A. Weibel

CTRC Research Publications

During dropwise condensation from the ambient environment, water vapor present in air must diffuse to the surface of each droplet. The spatial distribution of water vapor in the local surroundings of each individual droplet determines the total condensation rate. However, available models for dropwise condensation in humid air assume that such systems of droplets grow either as an equivalent film or that the growth of each droplet is completely isolated; the interactions between droplets are poorly described and, consequently, predictions of total condensation rates may mismatch experimental observations. This paper presents a reduced-order analytical method to calculate the condensation rate …

Observation Of Breathing Dark Pulses In Normal Dispersion Optical Microresonators, Chengying Bao, Yi Xuan, Cong Wang, Attila Fülöp, Daniel E. Leaird, Victor Torres-Company, Minghao Qi, Andrew M. Weiner

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Breathers are localized waves in nonlinear systems that undergo a periodic variation in time or space. The concept of breathers is useful for describing many nonlinear physical systems including granular lattices, Bose-Einstein condensates, hydrodynamics, plasmas, and optics. In optics, breathers can exist in either the anomalous or the normal dispersion regimes, but they have only been characterized in the former, to our knowledge. Here, externally pumped optical microresonators are used to characterize the breathing dynamics of localized waves in the normal dispersion regime. High-Q optical microresonators featuring normal dispersion can yield mode-locked Kerr combs whose time-domain waveform corresponds to circulating …

Physiological And Behavioral Effects Of Animal-Assisted Interventions For Therapy Dogs In Pediatric Oncology Settings, Amy Mccullough, Molly Jenkins, Ashleigh Ruehrdanz, Mary Jo Gilmer, Janice Olson, Anjali Pawar, Leslie Holley, Shirley Sierra-Rivera, Deborah E. Linder, Danielle Pinchette, Neil J. Grossman, Cynthia Hellman, Noémie Guérin, Marguerite O'Haire

Department of Comparative Pathobiology Faculty Publications

Over the past two decades, animal-assisted interventions (AAIs), defined as the purposeful incorporation of specially trained animals in services to improve human health, have become increasingly popular in clinical settings. However, to date, there have been few rigorously-designed studies aimed at examining the impact of AAIs on therapy animals, despite a notable potential for stress. The current study measured physiological and behavioral stress indicators in therapy dogs who participated in AAI sessions in pediatric oncology settings, while also examining the psychosocial effects for patients and their parents. This manuscript describes the study’s canine stress findings. Methods: A total of 26 …

The Influence Of Organic Pigments On Coating Properties, Sarah Medeiros

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to identify the qualities of two synthesized organic pigments added to a coating. These high-performance pigments were benzodipyrrolidone and benzodifuranone, which are π-conjugated monomers. These pigments were each formulated into two different pigment concentrations and compared with a control that had no pigment. This project is limited by time constraints and the number of variables that can be tested in that time. Performance testing was conducted to evaluate the qualities of these coatings. The results demonstrated that the coatings were reproducible and most tests had results that were equal to or exceeded the …

Sporadic Appearance Of Paralytic Spongiform Neurodegeneration In A Colony Of Inbred Mice Is Associated With Cns Retrovirus Expression, Magdalene Durbak

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Abstract

Exogenous and endogenous retroviruses (RV) have been known to induce vacuolar central nervous system neuropathology. Two mice which were juvenile inbred Rocky Mountain White (IRW), showed signs of spontaneous degenerate motor neuron disease. Signs included wasting, unkempt fur, adduction reflex upon tail elevation, kyphosis, and stilted gait by postnatal day 18 (P18). Brains and spinal cords were examined with H&E staining and stained with a broadly reactive retrovirus antibody. When compared to brains of mice with normal vacuolar pathology as well as mice infected with prototypic non-neurovirulent RV, Fr57E and prototypic neurovirulent RV FrCasE, the subject showed less severity …

Defining Bullying, Emma Mchale

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

My project focuses on the foundation of bullying, from 3 different perspectives. The bully, the bullied, and the bystander.

Security Blankets: The Art Of Maladaptation, Megan Stobaugh

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In times of stress or trauma, each person has their own means of coping. There are countless ways to deal with stressors in a positive way, such as journaling, problem solving, or meditation. However, many distressed individuals turn to negative, or maladaptive, coping mechanisms. These are behaviors which seem to help ease distress in the moment, but prove to have negative consequences. While they vary greatly, some common maladaptive coping mechanisms include substance and tobacco use, self-harm, disordered eating, violence, and isolation.

This project aims to shed light on the subject of maladaptive coping mechanisms, as it is an increasingly …

Assessment Of Midpalatal Suture Maturation For Orthodontic Diagnosis And Treatment Planning, Chiao-Yi Kao, Chin-Yun Pan, Hong-Po Chang, Yu-Chuan Tseng

Taiwanese Journal of Orthodontics

Accurately estimating the maturation of a midpalatal suture can improve the success rate of a maxillary expansion procedures. The craniofacial sutural maturation is an essential consideration in the choice between non-surgical and surgical methods of maxillary expansion. The maturation of a midpalatal suture can be assessed in several ways. This article reviews the literatures on the assessment of midpalatal suture maturation and its importance for orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning.

Clinical Use Of Contemporary Clear Aligner Therapy, Chun-Te Ho, Chien-Wei Chao, Chia-Tze Kao

Taiwanese Journal of Orthodontics

Clear aligner therapy (CAT) is an increasing popular alternative to conventional bracket therapy. This review summarized contemporary data regarding the history of CAT. The information regarding the advantages and disadvantages of CAT, biomechanical force and biological considerations, controlling orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) would be discussed in this review. The CAT is well accepted for their esthetics, comfort, good care of oral hygiene and periodontal status and suitable for interdisciplinary dental treatment. However, CAT was also considered as difficult compliance for the patients, uneasy to be handled by clinicians, unprecise root movement, difficult for the postoperative fixation in cases receiving orthognathic …

Effects Of Hofmeister Ions On Gelation Of Gelatin And Pluronic Hydrogels, Eric Britton

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of the project was to observe the effects of the Hofmeister series of ions on the gelation of gelatin and Pluronic-127 hydrogels. Hydrogels are semi-solid materials that contain a network of joined molecules through intermolecular interactions which are capable of holding water. Gelatin and Pluronic-127 (PF-127) are thermoreversible, physical crosslinked gels. Gelation occurs when temperature, or other driving forces, reduce the polymer chain solubility until a distinct 2-phase system forms. When aqueous ions are present in solution, they exhibit specific ion effects that have either a stabilizing or destabilizing effect on the solubility of proteins and other polymers. …

Improving Aav Transduction Efficiency In Retinal Bipolar Cells For Optogenetic Vision Restoration, Shengjie Cui

Wayne State University Dissertations

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors are the most promising vehicles for therapeutic gene delivery to the retina. We are developing AAV-mediated expression of optogenetic tools in surviving inner retinal neurons as a potential strategy to restoring vision after the death of photoreceptor cells in retinal degeneration. Targeting optogeneitc tools, such as channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), to retinal bipolar cells (RBCs) is particularly attractive. In particular, our lab has recently developed an optimized mGluR6 promoter-based virus vector that can mainly target ChR2 to rod bipolar cells. However, AAV-mediated transduction efficiency in RBCs is relatively low. The transduction efficiency could be affected by a …

The Role Of Neurokinin Receptors And Satellite Glial Cells In Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Latency, Andrew Jerome

Wayne State University Dissertations

The ability of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) to establish a lifelong infection in neurons of the trigeminal ganglion (TG) make it a constant public health threat. Viral reactivation from its latent state is currently the leading cause of viral induced blindness in the United State, as well as the leading cause of herpes simplex encephalitis. Unfortunately, how the virus is able to both establish and maintain its latent state in the TG is not well understood. The purpose of this work was to better understand how neuropeptide signaling through neurokinin receptors, as well as how satellite glial cells (SGCs) …

Carbazole Based Multifunctional Dopamine Agonists And Related Molecules As Potential Symptomatic And Disease Modifying Therapeutic Agents For Parkinson’S Disease, Asma S.Mohamed Elmabruk

Wayne State University Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that develops from gradual depletion of dopamine (DA) and dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) with the accumulation of intraneuronal proteinaceous matter named as Lewy bodies. The four cardinal symptoms associated with PD are tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, and postural instability. Although the exact mechanism and etiology of PD are not fully understood, several factors have been implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of PD including protein aggregation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, environmental, and genetic factors.

The current therapy of Parkinson’s disease is categorized into four classes: levodopa, DA agonists, …

Sensitivity Of Quagga Mussels (Dreissena Rostriformis Bugensis) To Cyanobacteria At Multiple Life History Stages, Anna Boegehold

Wayne State University Dissertations

Quagga mussels (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) originate from brackish waters of the Ponto-Caspian area and are nuisance invasive species in North American and European freshwaters. Their invasion has caused major economic and ecological damages in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Through selective filter feeding, quagga mussels have promoted the growth of cyanobacteria. Harmful cyanobacteria blooms have the potential to produce toxins, which can be toxic to humans and wildlife. Although quagga mussels can increase the prevalence of cyanobacteria blooms, it is unknown how they are physiologically affected by cyanobacteria and understanding these dynamics can be useful in the management of this invasive …

Identification Of Streptococcus Pyogenes Using Raman Spectroscopy, Ehsan Majidi

Wayne State University Dissertations

Despite the attention that Raman Spectroscopy has gained recently in the area of pathogen identification, the spectra analyses techniques are not well developed. In most scenarios, they rely on expert intervention to detect and assign the peaks of the spectra to specific molecular vibration. Although some investigators have used machine-learning techniques to classify pathogens, these studies are usually limited to a specific application, and the generalization of these techniques is not clear. Also, a wide range of algorithms have been developed for classification problems, however, there is less insight to applying such methods on Raman spectra. Furthermore, analyzing the Raman …

Republicanism In America, Examples Of Self-Government From 1775 Through 1819, John Renard Girdwood

Wayne State University Dissertations

In my three empirical chapters, I provide documentation for my claims that (1) the people did petition the General Government, such as through petitions and resolutions of instruction and, (2) the national representatives did acknowledge and respectively act on the people’s political documents, with attention paid to the defense of republican self-government, during the decades before and after Ratification. The evidence suggests that Americans did peripheralize the General Government before and after Ratification because of a belief in the republican values of freedom, virtue, and equality.

Practically, political scientists researching political culture should consider the conceptualization and application of republican …

The Role Of Alström Syndrome 1 (Alms1) In Hypertension, Salt Sensitivity And Metabolic Syndrome, Keyona Nicole King-Medina

Wayne State University Dissertations

In humans, inactivating mutations in the Alström syndrome 1 (ALMS1) gene cause obesity, insulin resistance and hypertension (metabolic syndrome). More so, SNPs in the ALMS1 gene have been associated with kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. The

mechanisms causing these alterations are unclear. We recently found that the ALMS1 is expressed in the kidney thick ascending limb (TAL) where it mediates endocytosis of the renal Na/K/2Cl cotransporter termed NKCC2. To study the role of ALMS1 in renal

physiology we generated ALMS1 knockout (KO) rats in a Dahl salt-sensitive genetic background via zinc-finger nuclease targeting. We previously found that the amount of …

To What Extent Does Clinical Supervision And Experience Relate To The Self-Efficacy Of Counselors-In-Training, Thomas Michalos

Wayne State University Dissertations

TO WHAT EXTENT DOES CLINICAL SUPERVISION AND EXPERIENCE RELATE TO THE SELF-EFFICACY OF COUNSELORS-IN-TRAINING

by

THOMAS MICHALOS

December 2018

Advisor: Dr. John Pietrofesa

Major: Counselor Education

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Clinical supervision is an integral part of the education and formation of a counselor. The following study focuses on measuring to what degree clinical supervision and experiences relates to the self-efficacy of counselors-in-training. A sample of 106 graduate level counselor education students were surveyed. Those students who have received clinical supervision had significantly higher levels of self-efficacy than who have never experienced clinical supervision. Additionally for those students in the …

Democratic Communication: Lessons From The Flint Water Crisis, Mindy Myers

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation develops an approach to institutional critique that re-works Porter, Sullivan, Blythe, Grabill, and Miles’ foundational configuration. This project argues that John Dewey’s concept of democratic communication articulated in his debate with Walter Lippmann provides a useful heuristic for developing democratic communicative practices that allow citizens and experts to communicate with one another about technical issues such as water quality and safety. Through an analysis of Michigan’s emergency manager law, the relationship between citizens and experts that exposed the crisis, and the Flint Water Advisory Task Force’s Final Report, this dissertation establishes that citizens must participate in technical decision-making …

The Process Of Ostracism Message Reception And Meaning Making, Lukas John Pelliccio

Wayne State University Dissertations

Ostracism is defined as the exclusion of an individual or group by an individual or group. Research suggests that being ostracized can create severe negative psychological reactions in targets. However, there is much less research explicitly focused on how ostracism is communicated and the process of meaning making that allows a target to interpret communication as an ostracism message. Through grounded theory and qualitative interviews, this study asked: What is the process of interpersonal ostracism message meaning making, and what are the key elements that influence this process? Analysis revealed a seven-phase process that explains the stages of meaning making …