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2018

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A Qualitative Case Study On Best Practices Of Emotional Support Animal Policies, Jordan E. Dadez Jan 2018

A Qualitative Case Study On Best Practices Of Emotional Support Animal Policies, Jordan E. Dadez

Masters Theses

This study sought to understand the best practices and protocols of Emotional Support Animal policies in residential life. A qualitative case study was conducted to provide insight on the best practices of residential life Emotional Support Animal Policies. Four participants from institutions with established policies were interviewed to gain understanding of these protocols and policies, what is involved in the approval and accommodations process, and what challenges the participants face. The results showed a need to evaluate and change the current process that most institutions utilize for Emotional Support Animal approval. The approval process and accommodations process are two separate …

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The Meaning Of A Woman's Work: Refugees, Statelessness, Nationality, And The Women's International League For Peace And Freedom, 1918-1931, Monica Burney Jan 2018

The Meaning Of A Woman's Work: Refugees, Statelessness, Nationality, And The Women's International League For Peace And Freedom, 1918-1931, Monica Burney

Masters Theses

This work analyzes how the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) sought to influence how the League of Nations approached questions of nationality and statelessness between 1918 and 1931. Especially important were the WILPF's efforts to aid women and children who remained in Turkey following the Armenian genocide, as well as the organization's efforts to address the statelessness crisis that arose following the dissolution of Austria-Hungary. Their activism helped to pressure the League of Nations into creating the Commission of Enquiry on Deported Women and Children in Turkey and Asia Minor. Their efforts to end statelessness culminated in …

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Professional And Technical Writing In The High School Setting, Kristy C. Bennett Jan 2018

Professional And Technical Writing In The High School Setting, Kristy C. Bennett

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

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Influences On International Students' Selection Of A Regional U.S. Institution: A Descriptive Study, Yazmin Rodriguez Jan 2018

Influences On International Students' Selection Of A Regional U.S. Institution: A Descriptive Study, Yazmin Rodriguez

Masters Theses

This study examined the factors influencing international students' election to study in the United States in general and at a regional four-year institution, specifically. Furthermore, it was designed to gather descriptive information about the barriers and challenges they face. A triangulation mixed methods approach was utilized based on a previously described push-pull model. The findings indicated that Availability of scholarships or work, cost and fees, and Visa processing and visa cost are the most difficult factors that international students face when making the decision to study in the U.S. This corresponded well with the qualitative responses from the …

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Students' Perceptions Of Safety On A Campus In Relation To Firearms, Porfirio Gallegos Jr. Jan 2018

Students' Perceptions Of Safety On A Campus In Relation To Firearms, Porfirio Gallegos Jr.

Masters Theses

This study will utilize a qualitative approach to better understand students' perceptions of safety on-campus in relation to firearms. Results found that participants felt safe on-campus due to its rural setting. Determination of geographical upbringing was noted as influential overall in perceptions of firearms. Participants were more confident with faculty having concealed firearms than students. Results also indicated that students have a lack of knowledge when it came to state legislation, their university's policies, and the protocol in place at their university in response to a mass shooting. Students reflected Perry's (2010) multiplicity stage of development appropriate for this age …

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A Photo Illicit Study Of Black Women's Sense Of Belonging At A Predominately White Institution, Kayla Alexandria Slusher Jan 2018

A Photo Illicit Study Of Black Women's Sense Of Belonging At A Predominately White Institution, Kayla Alexandria Slusher

Masters Theses

This qualitative study sought to examine how Black women define and create their sense of belonging while attending a predominately White institution using a photovoice approach. The women took photographs of spaces that they frequently occupy and then engaged in a face-to-face interview to discuss the photographs. The researcher also investigated four Black women, ranging from junior to graduate level, to identify how they developed a sense of belonging at the research site institution. Results of the study showed that a feeling of comfort was most important when identifying belongingness in a space. The participants were able to create a …

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Digit Ratio As A Predictor Of Risk Taking And Sensation Seeking Personality Traits And Behaviors, Hanna Elizabeth Hobson Jan 2018

Digit Ratio As A Predictor Of Risk Taking And Sensation Seeking Personality Traits And Behaviors, Hanna Elizabeth Hobson

Masters Theses

Digit ratio is the difference in length between the pointer finger and the ring finger on either hand. Commonly referred to as the 2D:4D ratio, this ratio is determined prior to birth, and serves as an indicator of prenatal hormone exposure. Digit ratio has been found to correlate with fundamental personality and behavior characteristics in adulthood. Digit ratio is also thought to be a determinate of sexual orientation in both men and women, but has been debated in the literature. This study examined multiple 2D:4D relationships. Men who were found to have a more masculinized (ie. lower) digit ratio had …

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Is The Relationship Between College Drinking Behaviors And Social Anxiety Mediated By Alcohol Expectancies And Traumatic Life Experiences?, Cortney Lin Kingsmill Jan 2018

Is The Relationship Between College Drinking Behaviors And Social Anxiety Mediated By Alcohol Expectancies And Traumatic Life Experiences?, Cortney Lin Kingsmill

Masters Theses

The relationship between alcohol consumption and social anxiety is difficult to understand, as there have been mixed findings in the research. In general, a positive correlation has been found between the two, with a focus on the mediating effect of alcohol outcome expectancies. Both positive expectancies and trauma have been correlated positively with social anxiety and drinking behavior. This paper reviews the literature and examines the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol consumption. A mediated model between these two variables with the mediators being alcohol expectancies and traumatic experiences was proposed, but this model did not fit the date. Specifically, …

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The Effect Of Self-Recognition In The Competition Between Genets Of Solidago Altissima, Charles Jaques Jan 2018

The Effect Of Self-Recognition In The Competition Between Genets Of Solidago Altissima, Charles Jaques

Masters Theses

Competition is a major driving force in the abundance, distribution, and diversity within any biological system. Plants are more likely to suffer reductions in fitness as a consequence of competition, as they typically occur in dense communities. Individuals within these populations must respond to both inter- and intraspecific competition. Recent studies suggest that the ability to distinguish kin from non-kin may play an integral role in the success of individuals within different plant populations and communities. However, a less known interaction is that between individual clones within a genet as they grow, spread, and begin to interact with nearby rival …

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Impact Of Giant Miscanthus (Miscanthus X Giganteus) Cultivation On Midwestern Farmland Birds, Matthew Craffey Jan 2018

Impact Of Giant Miscanthus (Miscanthus X Giganteus) Cultivation On Midwestern Farmland Birds, Matthew Craffey

Masters Theses

Giant Miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus) is a promising bioenergy feedstock, newly introduced to North America. However, the qualities that make Giant Miscanthus an attractive bioenergy feedstock may pose challenges to local wildlife. To assess the impacts of Giant Miscanthus on Midwestern farmland birds, I conducted point count and vegetation surveys at three sites in east-central Illinois where Giant Miscanthus was being cultivated. I used occupancy modeling to assess the relative influence of Giant Miscanthus on five species relative to other habitat and landscape characteristics. Dickcissel (Spiza Americana), Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna), and Red-Winged Blackbird …

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Evaluation And Demographic Response Of The Shovelnose Sturgeon Commercial Caviar Fishery In The Wabash River, Jessica L. Thornton Jan 2018

Evaluation And Demographic Response Of The Shovelnose Sturgeon Commercial Caviar Fishery In The Wabash River, Jessica L. Thornton

Masters Theses

Shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus Rafinesque) are considered one of the last commercially viable options for sturgeon roe harvest. Due to the collapse of several marine sturgeon fisheries and the Similarity of Appearances provision which protect shovelnose sturgeon in only a part of their range, the caviar fishery in the Wabash River remains an important point of supply for this lucrative natural resource. In this thesis, I presented an evaluation of the shovelnose sturgeon commercial caviar fishery in the Wabash River. More specifically, I described the demographic response of this population to continued exploitation over a 10-year period. Additionally, I …

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Oxidation Of Β-O-4 Lignin Model Compounds And Application To Lignin Linkage Degradation Facilitated By Mechanochemical Treatment And Two-Step Oxidative Depolymerization, Soledad G. Yao Jan 2018

Oxidation Of Β-O-4 Lignin Model Compounds And Application To Lignin Linkage Degradation Facilitated By Mechanochemical Treatment And Two-Step Oxidative Depolymerization, Soledad G. Yao

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

The oxidation of lignin model compounds was studied in conventional solvents in parallel with oxidations in ionic liquid solvents. Catalyst systems were investigated in ionic liquid solvents to determine how reaction rates and the selectivity for benzylic carbon oxidation were affected. Oxidation rates were often lower in ionic liquids than in conventional solvents ‒ as indicated by lower conversion in a standard reaction time ‒ likely due, at least in part, to the higher viscosity of ionic liquids. Mechano chemical treatment of Indulin AT kraft lignin by ball milling with KOH and toluene produced significant carbonyl functionality, among other changes. …

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Protein Engineering In The Study Of Protein Labeling And Degradation, Xinyi Zhang Jan 2018

Protein Engineering In The Study Of Protein Labeling And Degradation, Xinyi Zhang

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Proteins are large macromolecules that play important roles in nature. With the development of modern molecular biology techniques, protein engineering has emerged as a useful tool and found many applications in areas ranging from food industry, environmental protection, to medical and life science. Biomimetic membrane incorporates biological elements, such as proteins, to form membranes that mimic the high specificity and conductance of natural biological membranes. For any application involving the usage of proteins, the first barrier is always the production of proteins with sufficient stability, and the incorporation of proteins into the artificial matrix. This thesis contains two major parts, …

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Applications Of Cell-Derived Vesicles: From Single Molecule Studies To Drug Delivery, Faruk H. Moonschi Jan 2018

Applications Of Cell-Derived Vesicles: From Single Molecule Studies To Drug Delivery, Faruk H. Moonschi

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Single molecule studies can provide information of biological molecules which otherwise is lost in ensemble studies. A wide variety of fluorescence-based techniques are utilized for single molecule studies. While these tools have been widely applied for imaging soluble proteins, single molecule studies of transmembrane proteins are much more complicated. A primary reason for this is that, unlike membrane proteins, soluble proteins can be easily isolated from the cellular environment. One approach to isolate membrane proteins into single molecule level involves a very low label expression of the protein in cells. However, cells generate background fluorescence leading to a very low …

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Protein Suppression Of Flavin Semiquinone As A Mechanistically Important Control Of Reactivity: A Study Comparing Flavoenzymes Which Differ In Redox Properties, Substrates, And Ability To Bifurcate Electrons, John Patrick Hoben Jan 2018

Protein Suppression Of Flavin Semiquinone As A Mechanistically Important Control Of Reactivity: A Study Comparing Flavoenzymes Which Differ In Redox Properties, Substrates, And Ability To Bifurcate Electrons, John Patrick Hoben

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

A growing number of flavoprotein systems have been observed to bifurcate pairs of electrons. Flavin-based electron bifurcation (FBEB) results in products with greater reducing power than that of the reactants with less reducing power. Highly reducing electrons at low reduction midpoint potential are required for life processes of both aerobic and anaerobic metabolic processes. For electron bifurcation to function, the semiquinone (SQ) redox intermediate needs to be destabilized in the protein to suppress its ability to trap electrons. This dissertation examines SQ suppression across a number of flavin systems for the purpose of better understanding the nature of SQ suppression …

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Linguistic Correlates Of The Quiet Ego In Narratives About The Self, Katherine Maurer Jan 2018

Linguistic Correlates Of The Quiet Ego In Narratives About The Self, Katherine Maurer

Masters Theses

Increasingly, research has shown that the drive to elevate the self and the excessive pursuit of self-esteem have negative effects on well-being and mental health. In addition, many of the defensive and aggressive tendencies seen in psychological research can be seen as efforts to defend and elevate the self. In contrast to these tendencies, the quiet ego construct describes a state of ego balance characterized by an inclusive sense of identity, perspective-taking, detached awareness (mindfulness), and growth orientation. The quiet ego and related qualities have been associated with many positive outcomes. A body of research using the Linguistic Inquiry and …

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Resolution Of The Nutritional Requirements And Metabolic Profile Of Clostridium Scindens Atcc 35704, A Major Bile Acid-Dehydroxylating Anaerobe In The Human Gut, Rachana Shrestha Jan 2018

Resolution Of The Nutritional Requirements And Metabolic Profile Of Clostridium Scindens Atcc 35704, A Major Bile Acid-Dehydroxylating Anaerobe In The Human Gut, Rachana Shrestha

Masters Theses

Bile acids (cholate and chenodeoxycholate) are synthesized from cholesterol in the human liver, and secreted in small intestine for food digestion. However, a portion of these primary bile acids is converted in the colon to toxic secondary bile acids, deoxycholate and lithocholate. Secondary bile acid formation is the result of 7α-dehydroxylating anaerobes, and one of the key players in this conversion is Clostridium scindens. Interestingly, little is known about the basic physiology and nutrition of C. scindens. Therefore, the goal of this research was to understand the nutritional requirement, and determine the 7α-dehydroxylation activity and end products from …

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A Neonicotinoid Affects The Mating Behavior Of The Biological Control Agent Spalangia Endius, Aspen Kremer Jan 2018

A Neonicotinoid Affects The Mating Behavior Of The Biological Control Agent Spalangia Endius, Aspen Kremer

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Spalangia endius Walker is a parasitoid wasp that oviposits in the pupal stage of certain fly species, killing the fly in the process. Its fly hosts include economic pests in livestock-rearing operations, and it is sold commercially as a biological control agent. Male and female S. endius may encounter the commonly used pesticide imidacloprid while walking or resting on treated surfaces, and females may encounter imidacloprid while searching for hosts in contaminated manure. Contact with imidacloprid has been shown to affect survival and subsequent ability to parasitize hosts in S. endius. The present study examined the sublethal effect of imidacloprid …

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Application Of 1-Hydrosilatrane As A Robust Reducing Reagent, Vladislav Skrypai Jan 2018

Application Of 1-Hydrosilatrane As A Robust Reducing Reagent, Vladislav Skrypai

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In this work 1-Hydrosilatrane has shown great potential to be a commodity reducing reagent in organic synthesis. Initially, 1-hydrosilatrane was investigated as a reducing reagent in the transformation of aldehydes to corresponding alcohols. Although initial investigations did not confirm previously published work, after addition of a Lewis base activator 1-hydrosilatrane demonstrated speedy reductions of many functionalized aryl aldehydes to alcohols with good yields. Next, 1- hydrosilatrane was used in a direct reductive amination reaction between primary amines and aldehydes/ketones. Reaction proceeded in the presence of a Bronsted acid, and resulted in excellent yields. This reaction was then expanded to chiral …

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Assessing The Jurassic Cleveland-Lloyd Bone Bed Predator Trap Hypothesis By Statistical Comparison Of Allosaurus Fragilis And Pleistocene La Brea Canis Dirus Femora, Angela D. Reddick Jan 2018

Assessing The Jurassic Cleveland-Lloyd Bone Bed Predator Trap Hypothesis By Statistical Comparison Of Allosaurus Fragilis And Pleistocene La Brea Canis Dirus Femora, Angela D. Reddick

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Since its discovery in 1939, the Late Jurassic, Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry (CLDQ) has been assumed to be a Jurassic predator trap by most visitors to the site. This idea's longevity is due in part to the disproportionately high ratio of carnivores to herbivores (3:1) uncovered from the quarry. However, despite decades of active research on the taphonomy and geochemistry of the deposit, the predator trap hypothesis remains unproven. In order to test whether the quarry has or does not have the characteristics of a predator trap, this study specifically analyzed the population of the quarry's most abundant animal, Allosaurus fragilis. …

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Bayesian Methods For Optimal Treatment Allocation, Saptarshi Chatterjee Jan 2018

Bayesian Methods For Optimal Treatment Allocation, Saptarshi Chatterjee

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In chronic diseases such as cancer, physicians make multiple treatment decisions over the course of a patient's disease depending on his/her biological characteristics and accrued information. Essentially, the treatment rule at each decision point is a function which takes the patients' biomarker information, treatment and outcome history available up to that point as an input and returns the treatment choice as an output. In the single treatment setting, the optimal treatment decision can be obtained by a regression model on the mean outcome conditional on treatment and covariates, where the optimal treatment is the one that corresponds to the most …

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Bicarbonate Enrichment May Mitigate Oxidative Stress In Two Octocorals And Their Photosynthetic Symbionts, Jeffrey Golladay Jan 2018

Bicarbonate Enrichment May Mitigate Oxidative Stress In Two Octocorals And Their Photosynthetic Symbionts, Jeffrey Golladay

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The ecological communities built by corals are some of the most biodiverse in the world, and the current rate of climate change threatens their long-term persistence, with mass coral bleaching events becoming more frequent. Ocean acidification (OA) is one consequence of increased atmospheric CO2 that results in changes in seawater carbon chemistry with the potential to impact organisms that rely on seawater dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) for calcification, photosynthesis, or both. Corals are unique animals that participate in a symbiotic relationship with dinoflagellate algae of the genus Symbiodinium spp., in which the algal symbionts translocate most of the products of …

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"Paleobotic" Smilodon, Bernard Boston Jan 2018

"Paleobotic" Smilodon, Bernard Boston

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

A major challenge in the reconstruction of any fossil taxon is to determine the functional capabilities of the animal while it was alive. For extinct animals, this process can benefit from analysis of the functional capabilities of the closest available living relatives. To provide a more accurate estimation of the movement capacity of an extinct animal, we designed a three-dimensional model of the forelimb of the sabertooth cat, Smilodon. The model is intended as an answer to the challenge facing the research community of providing a system that can refine the understanding of the functional capabilities of extinct animals accurately …

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"Your Body Must Be Heard" : Uncovering A New Language Through Female Pain And Bodily Empowerment, Jaclyn Swiderski Jan 2018

"Your Body Must Be Heard" : Uncovering A New Language Through Female Pain And Bodily Empowerment, Jaclyn Swiderski

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis uses Virginia Woolf's essay "On Being Ill" in order to examine her novel The Waves, and Paule Marshall's novel Praisesong for the Widow. In each of these novels, the main female protagonists are experiencing mental pain that becomes manifested physically. Although each of them are experiencing pain for multiple reasons, their pain at the core is caused by certain societal institutions such as marriage, motherhood, and the medical field. In order to get past their pain and move toward healing, all of the women examined here use their deviant sexualities. Deviancy, here, is defined as anything going against …

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Diet And Vegetation Impacts Of A Reintroduced Bison Herd, Ryan Christopher Blackburn Jan 2018

Diet And Vegetation Impacts Of A Reintroduced Bison Herd, Ryan Christopher Blackburn

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

To redress prairie loss, managers seed former agricultural lands and reinstate key ecosystem processes with prescribed fires and reintroduction of native grazers to create restored prairies. Bison (Bison bison) were almost hunted to extinction in the late 1800's but are recovering and have recently been reintroduced to restored prairies for their ecosystem-engineering roles. The effects bison and fire have on remnant (never-plowed) prairie vegetation are well documented. However, there is little known about how bison will affect and shape vegetation patterns in restored prairies. These effects may be largely driven by bison's dietary preference to forage primarily on grasses. This …

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Dietary Constraints And Strategies In The Red-Bellied Lemur (Eulemur Rubriventer), And Their Implications For Conservation, Amanda Marie Du Bour Jan 2018

Dietary Constraints And Strategies In The Red-Bellied Lemur (Eulemur Rubriventer), And Their Implications For Conservation, Amanda Marie Du Bour

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Understanding the diet of the vulnerable red-bellied lemur ( Eulemur rubriventer) is essential for preventing its extinction. Previous E. rubriventer research focused on populations in Ranomafana National Park, located in the southeast part of the island, making research in other forest locations a priority for the understanding of dietary breadth and constraints in this species. My research questions consider whether protein is the nutritional driver for foraging choices in E. rubriventer, how fiber influences cathemeral activity, and seasonal variability in day and night time dietary items. My research team and I identified the plant and animal species that composed a …

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Does Excluding A Top Mesopredator Induce A Trophic Cascade : Effects And Diet Of An Omnivorous Predator In A Restored Prairie, Kirstie Savage Jan 2018

Does Excluding A Top Mesopredator Induce A Trophic Cascade : Effects And Diet Of An Omnivorous Predator In A Restored Prairie, Kirstie Savage

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Predators can shape prey communities through consumptive and non-consumptive interactions. By inducing fear of predation, predators can cause changes to prey foraging behavior that can negatively impact prey reproduction and body-condition. Furthermore, both consumptive (density-mediated) and non-consumptive (trait-mediated) predator-prey interactions can cascade down the food web to have indirect impacts of vegetation (trophic cascade). As we continue to lose apex predators and undergo land change, understanding how the new top dogs shape prey communities and restorations is increasingly important. Through utilizing predator-exclosure fences, mark-recapture analysis, plant biomass and stable isotopes we evaluated the role of coyotes as top mesopredator in …

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College Major Choice : Exploring The Perspectives Of Expectancy And Value Placed On Stem Fields By Female High School Students, Diane O'Connell Jan 2018

College Major Choice : Exploring The Perspectives Of Expectancy And Value Placed On Stem Fields By Female High School Students, Diane O'Connell

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative case study examined the expectancy beliefs and value placed on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-fields by female high school students as they relate to college major choice. Nineteen female high school seniors in a STEM-focused academic program from a large suburban high school in the Midwest identified their intended college major choice and explained their career goals along with their educational experiences that were helpful in the decision-making process. Through reflective essays, focus group discussions, and interviews, perspectives emerged that played a role in choosing a college major. The findings suggested that expectancy to be successful, along …

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An Investigation Into The Effects Of Temperature On The Rheological Characteristics Of Hybrid Nanofluids, Nanda Kishore Saini Jan 2018

An Investigation Into The Effects Of Temperature On The Rheological Characteristics Of Hybrid Nanofluids, Nanda Kishore Saini

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Over the past several decades, nanofluids have exhibited a great potential of enhanced heat transfer performance over conventional heat transfer fluids. These innovative nanofluids are synthesized through the dispersion of a variety of types of nanometer-sized materials throughout the base fluid that consists of either metal, metal-oxides, or non-metals particle suspensions. These nanoparticle suspensions play an important role in altering the intrinsic properties of a base fluid, and this especially true for its shear viscosity. Studies have shown that the rheological response of the base fluid under shear changes from a characteristic Newtonian behavior to non-Newtonian (shear thinning) behavior when …

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Investigating Age-Related Macular Degeneration : A Chemistry Plus Biology Approach, Jennifer C. Tournear Jan 2018

Investigating Age-Related Macular Degeneration : A Chemistry Plus Biology Approach, Jennifer C. Tournear

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a retinal disease that can cause severe vision loss. It is responsible for the majority of blindness in developed countries in the elderly population. The disease is characteristically multifactorial where oxidative stress, inflammation and retinal lipofuscin (cellular waste product) accumulation have been indicated in disease progression. The retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) attaches to the Bruch's membrane (BM) and the symbiotic relationship between these two layers of the retina is essential for the visual cycle to function normally. Retinal lipofuscin is believed to contribute to drusen (characteristic deposits in the AMD BM) that negatively impact the …

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