Digital Commons Network^™

Molded Features In Pdms For Fabricating Bacterial Cellulose For Various Geometries, Mitchell Habegger

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of producing features on bacterial cellulose (BC) is to facilitate the elongation and alignment for cells, in this case Normal Human Dermal Fibroblast (NHDF) cells. The elongated cells have applications in wound healing, tissue engineering, disease diagnostics, and many other fields. Experiments were run to test the effectiveness of transferring features to BC sheets from features induced by fracturing on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and those duplicated from molds with existing features. The features were duplicated to BC sheets by either air drying or Guided Assembly-Based Biolithography (GAB). The research results showed that fracture inducing on PDMS produced very small …

Multi-Dimensional Mass Spectrometry For The Characterization Of Glycopolymers, Maria Ganios

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Several glycopolymers synthesized by Activators regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (ARGET ATRP), were characterized by mass spectrometry to elucidate their microstructure and architecture. Analyses were performed using Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization- Time of Flight/ Time of Flight (MALDI-ToF/ToF) and Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS) instruments. The linear isopropylidenated glycopolymer (P65B1) analyzed with ESI-MS also was examined with multi-stage mass spectrometry (MSⁿ) using collision induced dissociation (CID) to examine the tetramer parent ion. This glycopolymer was found to be either cyclic or linear (sans end groups) due to the data being fit for both forms …

Platelet Rich Plasma Treatment Application For Multiple Purposes, Eric M. Bendel

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatments, a relatively new practice, are used for a variety of medical and clinical treatments. More recently, an increasing number of case studies and research has focused on the efficacy and use of PRP to treat injuries, and potential cosmetic benefits. This article is a compilation of numerous case studies regarding diverse uses of PRP in order to better understand the uses as well as efficacy of the treatment. The applications include: atrophic acne scarring³, orthopedic care², Hepple stage V osteochondral lesion of the talus⁵, chronic non-healing ulcers⁶, …

A Chronology Of Diet And Habitat Use In The Florida Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Latirostris): Insights From Stable Isotope Analysis, Malia Smith

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) is a threatened species that primarily feeds on marine and estuarine seagrasses. Over the past several years, the seagrass coverage in the Indian River Lagoon has varied due to human influence and algal blooms. This led to an unusual number of manatees dying and potentially, to remaining manatees shifting their diets. It can be difficult to decipher why or how diets shift, however, creating a timeline using stable isotopes can help address this challenge. Red blood cells from live Florida Manatees were analyzed for stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotope ratios. All …

The Efficacy Of An Emr-Enabled Text Messaging System To The Expanded Health Beliefs, Diabetes Care Profile And Hba1c Of Diabetes Mellitus Patients, Ma. Regina Justina E. Estuar, John Noel Victorino, Razel Custodio

Department of Information Systems & Computer Science Faculty Publications

As diabetes mellitus (DM) becomes a global emergency, there is a need to explore novel interventions to address problems in self – management. Literature agree in the potential of mobile phones to carry-out self-care for a wide-array of disease conditions. Diabetes Self – Management Support and Education Through Text – Messaging (DSMSET) is a low-cost, two-way text messaging system designed to deliver self - help, educational messages based on the nine (9) dimensions of health management. DSMSET serves as a plugin to SHINE OS+, an open – source electronic medical record (EMR) system. The research is also based on the …

Development Of An Electronic Nose For Olfactory System Modelling Using Artificial Neural Network, Proceso L. Fernandez Jr, Mary Anne Sy Roa

Department of Information Systems & Computer Science Faculty Publications

Electronic nose (e-nose) devices have received considerable attention in the field of sensor technology because of their many potential uses such as in identification of toxic wastes, monitoring air quality, examining odors in infected wounds and in inspection of food. Notwithstanding the vast amount of literature on the usage of e-noses for specific purposes, the technology originally and ultimately aims to mimic the capability of mammals to discriminate odors from all sorts of objects. This study demonstrates the theoretical and practical feasibility of designing an e-nose towards general odor classification. A multi-sensor array hardware unit was carefully constructed for data …

Tribute To Professor Paul Giannelli, Edward J. Imwinkelried

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Assessing Preservation Priorities Of Caves And Karst Areas Using The Frequency Of Endemic Cave-Dwelling Species, Eugen Nitzu, Vlaicu Marius, Giurginca Andrei

KIP Articles

Endemic and rare species as bioindicators of habitat vulnerability were used to develop protection and management plans for biotope prioritization (mainly islands habitats, lava tubes or groundwaters). Due to their narrow distribution, the endemic species (species confined to a restricted geographic area) are more susceptible to ecological disequilibrium and habitat loss than the widespread ones. Consequently, endemics become endangered in the context of ecological disturbance caused by anthropogenic pressure, making them suitable candidates to assess environmental preservation needs. Taking into consideration that most of the stygobitic and troglobitic species are endemic and confined to specific karst areas, based on their …

Chemical Modification Of Poly(Hydroxyalkanoate)S (Pha)S Via "Click' Chemistry, Samuel Nkrumah-Agyeefi

Dissertations

Poly(hydroxyalkanoate)s, PHAs, due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability have found many useful applications in biomedicine, prominently in the cardiovascular area. The spectrum of applications can be further expanded for PHAs by post biosynthetic chemical modification of terminal functional side chain groups. This should allow for the development of PHA platforms suited for specialized applications such as coatings, temporary medical implants, wound dressings etc. and for which novel applications can be envisioned. In this dissertation, four specific “click” chemistry tools, copper catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), strain promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC), thiol-yne radical “click” reaction and thiol-halogen nucleophilic substitution, have been studied …

Nanostructure Plasmonics For Biochemical Sensing, Hong Guo

Dissertations

In this dissertation work, several surface plasmon resonance nanostructure devices were investigated for biochemical sensing applications. First, optical resonance properties of diabolo nanoantenna arrays were investigated. Diabolo nanoantenna arrays with different waist widths and periods were fabricated and characterized. It was found that the waist width is critical to control the plasmon resonant wavelength. Second, a hybrid plasmon photonic crystal superperiod nanohole grating array was fabricated on a glass substrate and characterized. It was found that the new optical resonance spectrometer based on hybrid photonic crystal and plasmonic structure can measure plasmonic resonance that cannot be measured with a regular …

Global Stability And Traveling Wave Solutions For A Two-Competing-Prey And One-Predator Lotka-Volterra Model, Cuiping Wang

Dissertations

This dissertation consists of four chapters. In Chapter 1, I give an introduction of background, models to be investigated, and main goal of this dissertation. In Chapter 2, I study the space homogeneous model. The existence and local stability analysis of nonnegative equilibrium points in three cases, as well as the sufficient and necessary conditions for the existence of the positive interior equilibrium point are geiven in Section2.1. In Section 2.2, I perform a careful analysis to show the global stability of the boundary equilibrium point at which two prey coexist with extinction of predator for case 1. In Section …

Evaluation Of Electric Solid Propellant Responses To Electrical Factors And Electrode Configurations, Andrew Timothy Hiatt

Dissertations

Some electric solid propellants repeatedly ignite and extinguish through application and removal of electrical energy. Responses to electrical factors and electrode configurations were evaluated at atmospheric conditions using the Design of Experiment methodology for development of valid correlations. Experiment results were compared with an existing electrolytic theory describing electrochemical reactions occurring proportional to current. The high performance electrical propellant 501a formulation containing a hydroxylammonium nitrate ionic liquid and polyvinyl alcohol polymer binder was used in all experiments. External flame impingement produced charring without energetic ignition, no self-sustained burning, and extinguishment upon flame removal. Application and removal of electrical energy through …

Title Vii And The Etiologies Of Homosexual Attraction: How The Distinction Between Sex And Sexual Orientation Discrimination Vanished, Michael V. Caracappa

Seton Hall Journal of Legislation and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Northeastern Illinois University, Academic Catalog 2018-2019, Northeastern Illinois University

Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

From Alice To Bob: The Patent Eligibility Of Blockchain In A Post-Cls Bank World, Antonio M. Dinizo

Journal of Law, Technology, & the Internet

Every year the World Economic Forum publishes a list of the top ten emerging technologies. This list of breakthrough technologies has included 3-D printing, self-healing biomimicry materials, and human microbiome therapeutics. In 2016, the financial technology Blockchain dominated the list. Over $1 billion was invested into Blockchain technology and major financial firms are actively exploring Blockchain innovation.

As innovators enter the Blockchain space, they have pushed for patent protection. This Note examines whether Blockchain is patent eligible. Patent eligibility for business methods and software patents is determined under the Supreme Court’s holding in Alice v. CLS Bank. The first section …

Collaborating Homeless Outreach In Broward County: A Law Enforcement And Social Services Engagement, Edward Rafailovitc

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

In Broward County, Florida, over 2,600 individuals experience homelessness daily (Broward Regional Health Planning Council, 2015). Both positive and negative publicity have resulted, based on how local governments have addressed the problem using law enforcement. The typical cycle of homelessness often results in arrests for life-sustaining misdemeanor crimes that would be better suited for diversion into social services. A recent phenomenon between law enforcement and social services emerged in Broward County to help problem-solve reducing criminal recidivism of the homeless. The focus of this study was the collaboration in Broward County between law enforcement and social services to improve communication …

Structural Violence In The New Hampshire Family Court System: An Autoethnographic Exploration, Ann Marie Moynihan

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The family law system effectuates case outcomes affecting the lives of parents, children, and society through court orders imposing important life decisions upon divorcing or unmarried parents, children, and post divorce families. While some cases are resolved in alternative dispute resolution forums, others enter the courtroom and judicial decisions cause unintended consequences for millions of adults and children each year. This research details a parent’s suboptimal family law system experience caused by judicial decision-making, highlighting the need to examine the causes of unintended systemic outcomes. The purpose of this research is to raise awareness and provide justification for systemic reform …

Improving The Ability To Study Coastal Nutrient Dynamics Through The Development Of High-Resolution Water Samplers, Kyle Neumann

Link Foundation Ocean Engineering and Instrumentation Fellowship Reports

Globally, marine ecosystems are experiencing fundamental shifts in their structure and function. Due to the high level of interconnectedness between aquatic organisms and their environment, they are highly sensitive to changes in water chemistry. For example, coral reefs thrive in water that generally contains very low concentrations of macronutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus.1 An increase in these compounds as a result of human activities on land can have drastic impacts on coral health.2 In order to fully understand the cycling, fates and impacts of chemical compounds in the marine environment, it is critical to collect concentration data on the …

Changing Minds Or Transforming Social Worlds? Re-Envisioning Media Literacy Education As Feminist Arts-Activism, Margaret Louise Mcgladrey

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This dissertation project seeks to address the sociological processes, dynamics, and mechanisms inflecting how and why U.S. society reproduces a sexually dimorphic, binary gender structure. The project builds upon the work of sociologists of gender on the doing gender framework, intersectional feminist approaches to identity formation, and hegemonic masculinity and relational theories of gender. In a 2012 article in Social Science and Medicine presenting contemporary concepts in gender theory to the health-oriented readers of the journal, R. W. Connell argues that much public policy on gender and health relies on categorical understandings of gender that are now inadequate. Connell contends …

“Well, Don’T Walk Around Naked... Unless You’Re A Girl”: Gender, Sexuality, And Risk In Jamtronica Festival Subcultural Scenes, Kaitlyne A. Motl

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

The purpose of this study was to explore emerging issues surrounding gendered fear, threat, and violence perpetration at music festivals – particularly events that feature a synthesis of jam band and electronic dance music acts – a genre termed jamtronica by its fans. Though gendered violence perpetration and prevention have been widely studied within other party-oriented settings (i.e., sexual violence perpetration on college campuses), very little research exists to address how wider disparities of gender and sexuality permeate a community whose members frequently claim the scene’s immunity from external inequalities.

In this three-year multi-sited ethnography, I incorporate participant observations, group …

Sex Composition And Female Offending: Under The Impact Of The One-Child Policy, Ting Wang

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This dissertation explores the mechanisms of the increasing female crime in China from the effect of the one-child policy, which is treated herein as a natural experiment. Data reveal that the women’s share of documented crime dramatically increased after the mid-1990s when the first one-child generation reached the age of legal responsibility. This change reflects the interplay of the behavioral change and the net-widening effect.

The increasing criminality of the one-child generation is attributable to the gap between the equal gender expectations of the individual, which has been reshaped by the unique socialization practices under the influence of the policy, …

Research Games In Structural Biology, Nic Vigilante

Alison Scott Ricker Research Award

As problems in structural biology and bioinformatics have become increasingly complex, innovative new com-putational methods have been proposed and implemented. Of these methods, research games are unique in how they privi-lege human intuition over algorithmic verification in certain steps of the research process; researchers in structural biology have developed a number of research games since 2008 to utilize human pattern recognition and spatial manipulation skills. Players are not expected to have any scientific knowledge, as the game interfaces abstract the relevant problems from their biological contexts, and they are not reimbursed or incentivized in any way apart from methods such …

A Few Good Men: Narratives Of Racial Discrimination Impacting Male African American/Black Officers In The United States Marine Corps, Peter D. Freeburn

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

In the United States of America (U.S.), institutional marginalization and racial discrimination remains an arguably difficult subject to understand, both conceptually and pragmatically. Regarding governmental sectors, U.S. Armed Forces are institutions where discrimination must be critically explored in an attempt to provide an understanding of the reality faced by those who actually serve. This study involved the examination into racism within a specific elite governmental sector that emphasizes a philosophy of a unified oneness of all its members. Using a phenomenological approach, the study delved into the actual impact of racism within the Marine Corps, on the lives of individual …

Expressions Of Optimism Bias And "Self" Versus "Other" Perceived Controllability In The Context Of Military-Related Risks, Lauren Lachica-Muschett

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study aimed to examine expressions of optimism bias and perceived controllability specifically regarding risks often associated with military service. Optimism bias refers to people’s tendency to believe they are less susceptible to experiencing negative life events compared to others. Previous studies show high levels of optimism bias are associated with strong perceptions of personal controllability. Optimism bias is a significant aspect of health promotion research particularly in the field of general occupational health and safety (OHS). However, optimism bias has never been investigated in the military OHS domain. Given the number of risks associated with military occupations, examination of …

Local Loss And Spatial Homogenization Of Plant Diversity Reduce Ecosystem Multifunctionality, Yann Hautier, Forest Isbell, Elizabeth T. Borer, Eric W. Seabloom, W. Stanley Harpole, Eric M. Lind, Andrew S. Macdougall, Carly J. Stevens, Peter B. Adler, Juan Alberti, Jonathan D. Bakker, Lars A. Brudvig, Yvonne M. Buckley, Marc Cadotte, Maria C. Caldeira, Enrique J. Chaneton, Chengjin Chu, Pedro Daleo, Christopher R. Dickman, John M. Dwyer, Anu Eskelinen, Philip A Fay, Jennifer Firn, Nicole Hagenah, Helmut Hillebrand, Oscar Iribarne, Kevin P. Kirkman, Johannes M. H. Knops, Kimberly J. La Pierre, Rebecca L. Mcculley

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Biodiversity is declining in many local communities while also becoming increasingly homogenized across space. Experiments show that local plant species loss reduces ecosystem functioning and services, but the role of spatial homogenization of community composition and the potential interaction between diversity at different scales in maintaining ecosystem functioning remains unclear, especially when many functions are considered (ecosystem multifunctionality). We present an analysis of eight ecosystem functions measured in 65 grasslands worldwide. We find that more diverse grasslands—those with both species-rich local communities (α-diversity) and large compositional differences among localities (β-diversity)—had higher levels of multifunctionality. Moreover, α- and β-diversity synergistically affected …

Sedimentary Catalysis Of Radiolytic Hydrogen Production, Justine Flore Sauvage

Open Access Dissertations

Hydrogen (H₂) and oxidants (O₂ and H₂O₂) are naturally produced by radiolysis of water in any environment where water is bombarded by α, β, and γ radiation generated during radioactive decay. The production of radiolytic H₂ in aqueous solutions and in some monomineral-water mixtures has been extensively studied. However, yields of radiolytic products in natural materials remain largely unexplored.

Quantification of radiolytic production in common geological materials is critical to assess the importance of water radiolysis as source of microbial reductants and oxidants in water-containing subsurface environments. Knowledge of radiolytic production is …

Metabolism And Gas Phase Reactions Of Peroxide Explosives Using Atmospheric Pressure Ionization Mass Spectrometry, Kevin Colizza

Open Access Dissertations

The toxicity or pharmacodynamics of many of the nitrated explosives have been well documented. Trinitrotoluene (TNT) is known to cause liver toxicity while nitrate esters (nitroglycerine) are known vasodilators. One class of explosive that has been on the rise due to the ease of manufacturing from household products are the peroxides. Of particular interest are the cyclic peroxides used for many home-made explosives (HME): triacetone triperoxide (TATP) and hexamethylene diamine triperoxide (HMTD). Very little is known about the toxicity or potentially beneficial effects of these compounds. This may be primarily due to the difficulty in detecting or working with these …

Effect Of Ethanol On Gastrointestinal Tight Junctions And P-Glycoprotein Expression And Functionality, Armin Sadighi

Open Access Dissertations

Alcoholism, alcohol abuse or alcohol use disorder (AUD) is considered as a major untreated epidemic health concerns in modern societies. According to the 2014 report of World Health Organization (WHO), alcoholism causes approximately 6% of all cases of death every year. It has been evident that chronic alcohol consumption leads to organ damage, and in some cases, it progresses to cirrhosis and carcinoma. Some pharmacotherapy strategies have been proposed during decades to treat AUD; however, the efficacy of these medications to reduce drinking or alcohol abstinence remained controversial. Naltrexon, acamprosate, desulfiram, and nalmefen have been approved by the US Food …

Vascular Cognitive Impairment And Dementia: The Importance Of Mixed Pathologies From Mouse Models To Humans, Alex Marian Helman

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Age-related neurologic disease is a significant and growing burden on our society. Although the largest share of research effort has typically been devoted to the common neurodegenerative illnesses (such as Alzheimer’s disease, or AD), the reality is that nearly all cases of neurodegenerative disease possess elements of mixed pathology. Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) is a complex form of dementia, combining aspects of vascular disease and other forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease. This pathology is heterogeneous and can include cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), hemorrhages, white matter infarcts, and changes to the neurovascular unit. Given the …

The Function Of Erbin, A Scaffold Protein, As A Tumor Suppressor In Colon Cancer, Payton D. Stevens

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Erbin belongs to the LAP (leucine-rich repeat and PDZ domain) family of scaffolding proteins that play important roles in orchestrating cell signaling. Here, we show that Erbin functions as a tumor suppressor in colon cancer. Analysis of Erbin expression in patient specimens reveals that Erbin is downregulated at both mRNA and protein levels in tumor tissues. Functionally, knockdown of Erbin disrupts epithelial cell polarity and increases cell proliferation in 3D culture. In addition, silencing Erbin results in an increase in the amplitude and duration of signaling through Akt and RAS/RAF pathways. Moreover, Erbin-loss induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which coincides with …