Digital Commons Network^™

A Tactile Interface To Assist Older Adults In Finding A Roommate, Jia Guo

Theses - ALL

This thesis focuses on helping older adults find an ideal co-living roommate via physical interaction design. The literature review suggests that almost all of the existing systems and products for roommate-finding currently in the market rely on digital devices. For older adults, this is a problem because they are not proficient at using computers or other smart devices ("Tech Adoption"). A tactile (physical) interface is an appropriate interface for elderly users for a roommate finding product (Güldenpfennig and Fitzpatrick, 1). This thesis proposes a design intervention that uses a tactile interface to solve this problem. The resulting design creates a …

Network Level Pavement Deterioration Prediction Modeling For The City Of Syracuse, Burak Gursoy

Theses - ALL

Pavement deterioration prediction models play an important role in pavement management systems and allow decision makers to plan maintenance and rehabilitation works in advance. There are several factors affecting the deterioration of pavement sections such as traffic loading, freeze and thaw, snow plowing, construction quality as well as pavement thickness and age. Developing pavement deterioration prediction models can provide decision makers with many benefits. First of all, pavements can be treated before they reach undesired levels of service and this would extend the lifetime. Secondly, required budget for expenses can be provisioned, which helps public authorities to generate more precise …

A Neural Correlate Of Mindful Acceptance? Relating Individual Differences In Dispositional Acceptance To Error Processing, Emily Lynne Cary

Theses - ALL

Mindfulness is a multi-faceted construct that can be defined with more precision via a two-component model that includes self-regulated attention and an accepting orientation towards one’s experiences. Many of the observed benefits of mindfulness are associated with the orientation of acceptance, which is characterized by having less reactivity and judgment of one’s experiences and may be particularly relevant to the processing of errors, as errors often enlist cognitive and affective responses. Error processing is a system that involves detecting errors and adjusting behavior adaptively to prevent future errors. Error processing can be measured in the brain and thus could be …

There Must Be Something In The Water: Understanding Pfas Contamination Of Groundwater As A National Security Issue, Kylie N. Ford

Student Theses 2015-Present

This report addresses the widespread pollution of domestic groundwater resources with Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) caused by firefighting activities performed at military installations across the United States. Two former military bases in Southeastern Pennsylvania are used as a single case study: the Naval Air Development Center (NADC) in Warminster and the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NASJRB) in Horsham. Chapter 1 gives a history of domestic military bases from the perspective of the infrastructure buildup and downsizing that occurred over the 20th Century, along with the environmental degradation revealed during brownfield redevelopment. The chapter then gives specifics about …

Functional Implications Of Nlrp1 Variants For Autoimmune Disease, Laura J. Westhoff

Undergraduate Honors Theses

NLRP1 is a protein-coding human gene that plays a crucial role in the NLRP1 inflammasome. Variants to the NLRP1 gene have been associated with autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases. We examined the effects of polymorphisms at two SNPs on cytokine levels and NLRP1 gene expression in 50 human volunteers without diagnosed autoimmune disease. NLRP1 was genotyped at SNPs rs2670660 and rs12150220 and individuals who were homozygous at one or more SNP were selected for further analysis. Serum IL-18 and IL-1β levels were quantified using ELISA. NLRP1 gene expression was measured using real-time PCR. A strong linkage was found between genotypes of …

Design And Development Of A Perfusion Bioreactor With Internal Volume Expansion And Cell Retention For Cell And Gene Therapy Manufacturing, Corinna Doris

KGI Theses and Dissertations

Economically producing patient-specific cell therapies at commercial levels remains a challenge as it requires manufacturing separate batches per patient where the production system must be scaled-out rather than scaled-up to supply more patient doses. The resulting high production cost and consequent price-point can limit patient access. Specifically, the current cell expansion processes are highly manual and laborious, with the number and complexity of operations and components increasing the opportunities for failure and contamination. This work therefore aims to design a mechanically simple bioreactor that is better suited for scale-out by consolidating the cell expansion process to fewer components, vessels, and …

Ryan Miller, Appellant/Petitioner V. Trial Court Brenda Miller, Appellee/Respondent. : Brief Of Appellant, Utah Court Of Appeals

Utah Court of Appeals Briefs (2007– 2019)

Appeal from the Second District Court, Layton, Davis County Judge Michael S. Edwards

Jonathan Hibshman (12552), Marco Brown (13156), Counsel for Appellant/Petitioner

Dustin D. Gibb, Counsel for Appellee/Respondent

Evidence For Late-Stage Eruptive Mass Loss In The Progenitor To Sn2018gep, A Broad-Lined Ic Supernova: Pre-Explosion Emission And A Rapidly Rising Luminous Transient, Anna Y.Q. Ho, Daniel A. Goldstein, Steve Schulze, David K. Khatami, Daniel A. Perley, Mattias Ergon, Avishay Gal-Yam, Alessandra Corsi, Igor Andreoni, Cristina Barbarino, Eric C. Bellm, Nadia Blagorodnova, Joe S. Bright, E. Burns, S. Bradley Cenko, Virginia Cunningham, Kishalay De, Richard Dekany, Alison Dugas, Rob P. Fender, Claes Fransson, Christoffer Fremling, Adam Goldstein, Matthew J. Graham, David Hale, Assaf Horesh, Tiara Hung, Mansi M. Kasliwal, N. Paul M. Kuin, S. R. Kulkarni, Thomas Kupfer, Ragnhild Lunnan, Frank J. Masci

Faculty Publications

We present detailed observations of ZTF18abukavn (SN2018gep), discovered in high-cadence data from the Zwicky Transient Facility as a rapidly rising (1.4 ± 0.1 mag hr-1) and luminous (Mg,peak = -20 mag) transient. It is spectroscopically classified as a broad-lined stripped-envelope supernova (Ic-BL SN). The high peak luminosity (Lbol ≳ 3 × 1044 erg s-1), the short rise time (trise = 3 days in g band), and the blue colors at peak (g-r ∼ -0.4) all resemble the high-redshift Ic-BL iPTF16asu, as well as several other unclassified fast transients. The early discovery of SN2018gep (within an hour of shock breakout) enabled …

Mission As Virtuous Practice: A Theology Of Mission Through The Lens Of Virtue Ethics, Michael Niebauer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work uses theological virtue ethics as a guide both for critiquing various models of Christian mission and for constructing a model of mission that adequately addresses these criticisms. The first section of the dissertation (chapters one, two, and three) is devoted to an assessment of three major models of mission, which I have labeled mission as the missio Dei, mission as growth, and mission as dialogue. This assessment generates three recurring issues within the field of missiology that have remained largely unresolved: the problems of distinction, agency, and persuasion. The second half of the dissertation (chapters four, five, …

Decolonizing American Democracy And The Problem Of Gerrymandering: Implications Of Border Designs From A Communication Ethics Perspective, Mark Gardner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project attempts to understand the powerful force of political borders from a historical and communicative perspective. Of particular importance to this research is the role that political borders play in shaping individuals’ relationship to structures and practices of democracy. Following insights of decolonial and communication ethics scholars, this work understands the importance of ethically framing deliberations surrounding physical, metaphorical, and categorical political borders. Five chapters make up this work in the culmination of analyzing political gerrymandering as a form of democratic competition grounded in the rhetoric of colonialism. Tracing the colonial history of borders throughout American democracy provides this …

"Frontline In Mental Healthcare": A Discourse Analytic Clinical Ethnography Of Crisis Intervention Team Trainings For Corrections, Daniel Gruner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the criminal justice system operates a discourse of corrections-reform. This responds to prisoner trauma and resistance by converting them into reforms that strengthen prisons and the larger carceral system while discounting issues of race and class that might undermine institutional legitimacy. The recent adoption of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Trainings in corrections is exemplary of corrections-reform discourse. ‘Crisis’ comes from the Greek krinein, meaning ‘to decide.’ The crisis in mental health in prisons involves deciding when to implement what “services” or “programming” for whom.

In this discourse analytic clinical ethnographic study, I focus on the trans-disciplinary corrections …

Charismatic Renewal And Pentecostalism: The Renewal Of The Nigerian Catholic Church, Isidore Nkwocha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project is using Charismatic and Pentecostal theology and praxes to argue for the renewal of the Nigerian Catholic church. It avers that the praxis-oriented and experiential theology of the Charismatics and Pentecostals, which characterize them as Spirit-filled groups and churches are enabling the Nigerian Catholic church to realize the potentials of a Spirit-driven church through the renewal of her pneumatological, ecclesiological, and liturgical doctrines and practices

Nanomedicine-Driven Neuropathic Pain Relief In Rat Model Is Associated With Macrophage Polarity And Mast Cell Activation, Muzamil Saleem

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We explored the immune neuropathology underlying multi-day relief from neuropathic pain in a rat model initiated at the sciatic nerve by using a nanoemulsion-based nanomedicine as a biological probe. The nanomedicine is theranostic: both therapeutic (containing celecoxib drug) and diagnostic (containing near-infrared fluorescent (NIRF) dye) and is small enough to be phagocytosed by circulating monocytes. A model of neuropathic pain is initiated by tying four 1mm spaced knots around the sciatic nerve with chromic gut suture, which results in neuroinflammation, and a resultant pain-like behavior manifests. We show that pain-like behavior reaches a plateau of maximum hypersensitivity 8 days post-surgery, …

Characterization Of The Effect Of Exercise Dose And Integrative Nonpharmacological Therapies In The Treatment Of Chronic Pain, Anna M. Polaski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chronic pain includes debilitating conditions affecting large populations of people throughout the world. These diseases are further complicated by comorbid psychological disorders which make chronic pain conditions difficult to treat. Nonpharmacological treatment options have more recently become an important mainstay of effective therapies and are currently being used to supplement or replace traditional pharmacological treatment methods. Exercise-based therapies in particular are of interest due to their demonstrated success in reducing pain symptoms as well as improving psychological outcomes. Dose is an important factor in being able to effectively prescribe treatments in the context of specific exercise interventions and specific pain …

Parental Experiences Participating In The Positive Behavior Intervention And Support Process In Schools, Siddiq Meer Siddiq Ahmed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of parents of children with challenging behavior regarding their involvement with, and interest in, the Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) process within school systems. The overarching research question was what are the lived (perceived) experiences of parents of children with challenging behavior regarding their involvement in the PBIS process? From this main question, there were five subsidiary questions that were addressed: How do parents of children with challenging behavior involved in the PBIS process describe their lived experiences? In what ways have parents made meaning out of their experiences …

A Pilot Study Examining Differences In Tactile Sensory Processing As A Function Of Borderline Personality Disorder Symptomatology And Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, Julia Elizabeth Hooker

Theses - ALL

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is characterized by a pattern of instability in self-image, interpersonal relationships, emotional regulation, and impulsivity that significantly impacts functioning in everyday life. Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a hallmark symptom of BPD that serves to regulate affective instability and relieve inner aversive tension. Experimental pain modalities are commonly employed to assess sensory perception in the context of BPD. Although the experience of self-inflicted pain during NSSI is thought to contribute to emotional regulation, individuals with BPD tend to exhibit reduced experimental pain sensitivity when compared to healthy controls. Thus, experimental pain reactivity may not adequately reflect mechanisms …

The Art Of Subtitling: A Case Study Of A Chinese Online Fansub Group, Xianwei Wu

Theses - ALL

Online fan subtitling (hereafter fansub) groups are a recent phenomenon that have quickly gained global popularity. They are groups of volunteers who produce and distribute subtitles of English televisions shows and films for free. However, to date not much academic attention has been paid to this phenomenon in a critical capacity, with the exception of anime fansubbing. This study closely examines one fansub group in China using a single-case design case study. The methods of data collection include: in-depth interviews with the translators; participant observation as a subtitle translator; and textual/discourse analysis of the subtitles. This study will use the …

Expanding The Definition Of Liminality: Speculative Fiction As An Exploration Of New Boundaries, Dianna C. Lacy

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Speculative fiction allows an expanded view of literature and so allows scholars to explore new boundaries in the way words and ideas work. In the titular character of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, the reader sees an expansion of self through liminality while A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick explores its collapse. In order to portray each of these the character examined must move though one seems to move upward and the other downward. This idea of movement is only part of what expands the idea of liminality past the traditional idea of a doorway to create …

Platform Pleading: Analyzing Employment Disputes In The Technology Sector, Joseph Seiner

Faculty Publications

The technology sector has created thousands of new jobs for workers across the country in an emerging multi-billion dollar industry. Many companies in this platform-based sector are attempting to characterize their workers as independent contractors rather than employees, thus stripping them of both federal and state workplace protections—including the right to bargain collectively, receive fair compensation, and avoid discrimination. The federal courts, which have always grappled with the question of worker classification, are now struggling to define employment with respect to these gig sector jobs. The result has been scattered court decisions with inconsistent and conflicting analyses.

This Essay seeks …

Homology Over A Complete Intersection Ring Via The Generic Hypersurface, Eric Jeffrey Ottman

Dissertations - ALL

We study homological properties and constructions for modules over a complete intersection ring $Q/(f_1,\ldots,f_c)$ by way of the related generic hypersurface ring $Q[T_1,\ldots,T_c]/(f_1T_1+\cdots+f_cT_c)$. The advantage of this approach is that over a hypersurface ring, free resolutions are eventually 2-periodic, given by matrix factorizations, and are thus relatively easy to understand. We approach this relationship in two ways. First, we give a correspondence between the two rings in the graded setting, where existing results are insufficient for preserving graded structures. As an application, we use this correspondence to move a functor appearing in a theorem of Orlov to the generic hypersurface …

Detection And Inference In Gravitational Wave Astronomy, Steven Daniel Reyes

Dissertations - ALL

We explore the detection and astrophysical modeling of gravitational waves de- tected by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo. We discuss the techniques used in the PyCBC search pipeline to discover the first gravitational wave detection GW150914, and estimate the statistical signifi- cance of GW150914, and the marginal trigger LVT151012. During Advanced LIGO’s first observing run there were no detections of mergers from binary neutron star and neutron star-black hole binaries. We use Bayesian inference to place upper limits on the rate of coalescence of these binaries. We use developments made in the PyCBC search pipeline …

Raising An Indoor Generation: Outdoor Environmental Education Impact On Adolescent Development, Daisy Elizabeth Bewley

Student Theses 2015-Present

In an increasingly digital world, children are growing up with less involvement and interaction with the environment. Hands-on and experiential learning is less popular in schools and a more test-oriented and numerical evaluation is increasingly popular. This thesis explores the decrease in outdoor environmental education and the impact that has on adolescent development and developmental milestones in children. This impact extends past just mental development and impacts the physical health development of children. Obesity, attention deficit disorders, and other behavioral issues are just a few of the signs of the problems that have arisen due to a decrease in environmental …

Delivery Of Small Molecule And Rna Using Synthetic Polymeric Micelles And Multifunctional Exosomes For The Treatment Of Type 1 Diabetes, Yang Peng

Theses & Dissertations

Type 1 diabetes is one of the most challenging chronic autoimmune diseases. The destruction and dysfunction of insulin-secreting β cells are the results of inflammatory infiltration and the synergistic effect of multiple immune cells. The aim of this dissertation is to develop novel and reliable therapeutic approaches to advance the treatment of T1D: including chemical modification of a broad-spectrum immunosuppressant, co-application of small molecule based immune intervention and siRNA based β cell preservative therapy, and administration of a PI3K-δ/γ dual inhibitor to specifically target immune cells, utilizing synthetic polymeric micelles or natural produced multi-functional exosomes derived from human bone marrow …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Long Acting Darunavir Prodrugs, Mary Banoub

Theses & Dissertations

Patient adherence is critical for ART success to ensure adequate viral suppression, therefore, long-acting antiretrovirals are soon replacing current daily regimens. In recent years, two drugs were successfully transformed into long-acting injectables; CAB LA and RPV LA. These long-acting nanoformulations made it possible to abandon the daily pill burden, instead approximately a bimonthly injection of both drugs is enough to suppress and maintain viral load suppression. Our laboratory has been instrumental in transforming FDA-approved and experimental-HIV medications into long-acting slow effective release drugs, also known as LASER ART. LASER ART consists of slow drug metabolism and high permeability and retention …

The Role Of Histone Chaperone Fact Complex In Base Excision Repair Pathway And Its Therapeutic Potential In Colon Cancer And Medulloblastoma, Heyu Song

Theses & Dissertations

Base excision repair (BER) pathway is required for the removal of damaged bases caused by alkylation, oxidation and ring-saturation. Human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) plays a central role in BER pathway. Although repair of damaged bases by recombinant APE1 has been well investigated in vitro, how APE1 gains access to damaged bases in the context of chromatin is largely unknown. A prominent member of the histone chaperone family, FACT (Facilitates Chromatin Transcription) is thought to reorganize nucleosomes through the destabilization of multiple intra-nucleosome contacts. FACT complex is composed of two polypeptides identified as SPT16 (Suppressor of Ty 16) and SSRP1 …

Engineering Hyaluronic Acid For Biomedical Applications, Deep S. Bhattacharya

Theses & Dissertations

This work presents research using the naturally available non- sulfated carbohydrate glycosaminoglycan hyaluronic acid (HA) for the synthesis of different chemical derivatives of HA for evaluation of binding kinetics with CD44 and P- selectin proteins for applications in fluorescence image-guided surgery. Chemical derivatives of HA such as deacetylated HA (deHA), sulfated HA (sHA), and deacetylated and sulfated HA (s-deHA) were synthesized by modulating sulfating and deacetylating reagents to alter binding specificities to CD44. Modified HA derivatives and CD44 biophysical interactions were assessed by fluorescence polarization. In silico techniques were also used to determine binding using molecular docking and MM-PBSA approaches. …

Orthodontically Induced External Root Resorption In Extraction Versus Non-Extraction Treatment Modalities – A Retrospective Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (Cbct) Study, Jaykishan Patel

Theses & Dissertations

Purpose of this study was to evaluate orthodontically induced external apical root resorption using cone beam computed tomography in patients receiving orthodontic treatment with or without extractions. Records of 188 consecutively treated patients who received orthodontic treatment with or without extractions were evaluated. Pre-and post-treatment root lengths of maxillary incisors, volumes of maxillary central incisors, and apex displacement of either right or left maxillary central incisors were measured using Invivo 5.4 or ITK-SNAP 3.8.0 software. After adjusting for initial length, treatment duration, tooth, sex, race, bracket type, and malocclusion, maxillary incisor reduction of root length in extraction group was 0.37 …

Efficacy And Efficiency Evaluation Of Real-Time Feedback For Caregiver Training, Elizabeth J. Preas

Theses & Dissertations

Children with an autism spectrum disorder often have deficits in completing activities of daily living skills independently, which then falls on the responsibility of caregivers to assist their child. Behavioral skills training is an efficacious method to train caregivers to implement various behavioral interventions that includes several training components, which can be time intensive. Alternative caregiver training methods that are effective and efficient are needed to train caregivers to implement activities of daily living skills with their child. The present study used two concurrent multiple-baseline across participants design to evaluate the effects of real-time feedback and behavioral skills training to …

Theranostics For Antiretroviral Biodistribution And Pharmacokinetics, Brendan M. Ottemann

Theses & Dissertations

RATIONALE: Our laboratories birthed the field of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) theranostics. The new field allows simultaneous detection (diagnostics) and treatment (therapeutic) for the identification, treatment and inevitable elimination of virus in cell and tissue compartments. By employing theranostics, antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) can be tracked in lymph nodes, gut, spleen and liver. Cellular viral reservoirs including CD4+ T cell populations and mononuclear phagocytes (MP; monocytes, macrophages, microglia and dendritic cells) along with subcellular endosomal structures can now be targeted for drug delivery bringing therapeutics to areas where virus replicates. The overarching idea rests in improving precision targeted ARV delivery. …

Identification Of More Potent And Efficacious Analogs Of The Novel Host-Derived Immunostimulant Ep67, Abdul Alshammari

Theses & Dissertations

EP67 is a human C5a-derived decapeptide agonist of C5a Receptor 1 (C5aR1/CD88) that selectively activates mononuclear phagocytes over neutrophils to stimulate protective innate and adaptive immune responses while potentially minimizing neutrophil-mediated toxicity. Two N-alkyl amino acids Pro⁷ and N-methyl-Leu⁸ (nme-Leu⁸) within EP67 induce structural changes that increase potency and selective activation of mononuclear phagocytes over neutrophils. Cis/trans isomerization at these positions, however, likely limits the activity of EP67 and low coupling efficiency between Pro⁷ and nme-Leu⁸ increases scale-up costs for clinical use. Thus, the goals of this study were to …