Digital Commons Network^™

Interpreting Potential Groundwater Policies Through Modeling Of Market And Non-Market Benefits And Costs, Grant H. West

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current policies leveraging financial incentives and improved irrigation efficiency to mitigate groundwater scarcity have not proven to curtail trends of resource depletion. Groundwater benefits cannot be appropriately valued solely on market forces, and so deeper policy consideration is warranted under a framework that considers the importance of groundwater across all its values to society. Understanding time preferences for groundwater management and preferences for alternative policies is vital to inform efficient policies. Furthermore, climate change remains politically controversial yet has important consequences for critical groundwater resources and their sustainable long-term management. Proliferating policy narratives concerning climate change could influence the way …

Aglycon Modifications Of Ipomoeassin F: Synthetic Route Development And Analog Synthesis To Enable Further Sar Studies, Eric Barber

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The ipomoeassin family of resin glycosides were discovered to have a high potency against numerous cancer cell line, with ipomoeassin F being the most potent among the family of natural products. Interestingly, one of the few differences between ipomoeassin F and the other compounds is the length of the fatty-acid derived aglycon. As the mechanism of action for this family of resin glycosides is unknown and didn’t have any significant COMPARE correlation with the recorded anticancer agents in the National Cancer Institute (NCI), further SAR studies are needed. Drawing on the differences between ipomoeassin F and the other ipomoeassins, it …

Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus Collaris) Population Declines In Ozark Landscapes: An Assessment Of Environmental Constraints., Casey L. Brewster

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris) has experienced extensive population declines over the past half century in the Ozark Mountains. Previous research suggests that glade habitat degradation through woody vegetation encroachment is an important factor resulting in population declines. In this dissertation I used information on time-energy budgets to investigate the link between habitat degradation and shifts in life history traits likely resulting in population declines of Eastern Collared Lizards (Crotaphytus collaris) in the Ozarks. In chapter one, I addressed the influence of dense woody vegetation encroachment on age-specific growth, body size, body condition and reproduction of C. collaris in …

Development Of Forward Osmosis Based Separations: A Novel Approach In Membrane Technology, Yu-Hsuan Chiao

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tackling the worldwide severe water shortage, the membrane technology is considered to be the most efficient approach and hence, used widely as a cost-effective sustainable solution. “Forward osmosis (FO)” has been the major attention in recent time. FO uses osmotic pressure as the driving force to draw the water passing the membrane and achieve the desired separation performance. In general, it is considered to be a process with tremendous potential to resolve the present-day water shortage with extremely low energy consumption. However, the challenges of membrane and draw solution regeneration associated with FO processes must be conquered prior to their …

The State Of State History: Teacher Perceptions Regarding The Place And Purpose Of State History In K–12 Social Studies, Shay Hopper

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social studies, history, and state history courses, in general, have long been broadly considered the least significant of the four core content courses in K – 12 education. State history is required and/or taught inconsistently throughout the 50 states, and in some cases, not at all. Teacher preparation and on-going support to teach state history in K – 12 education are also inconsistent and often disregarded. The purpose of this exploratory qualitative survey and interview study was to investigate teacher perceptions regarding place and purpose of state history in K – 12 social studies, and to identify teacher dispositions toward …

Countering Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities In The Power System, Fengli Zhang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Security vulnerabilities in software pose an important threat to power grid security, which can be exploited by attackers if not properly addressed. Every month, many vulnerabilities are discovered and all the vulnerabilities must be remediated in a timely manner to reduce the chance of being exploited by attackers. In current practice, security operators have to manually analyze each vulnerability present in their assets and determine the remediation actions in a short time period, which involves a tremendous amount of human resources for electric utilities. To solve this problem, we propose a machine learning-based automation framework to automate vulnerability analysis and …

A Space For Learning: An Analysis Of Research On Active Learning Spaces, Robert Talbert, Anat Mor-Avi

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

Active Learning Classrooms (ALCs) are learning spaces specially designed to optimize the practice of active learning and amplify its positive effects in learners from young children through university-level learners. As interest in and adoption of ALCs has increased rapidly over the last decade, the need for grounded research in their effects on learners and schools has grown proportionately. In this paper, we review the peer-reviewed published research on ALCs, dating back to the introduction of “studio” classrooms and the SCALE-UP program up to the present day. We investigate the literature and summarize findings on the effects of ALCs on learning …

Nash Bargaining Solution And Its Generalizations In Intellectual Property Litigation: Virnetx And An Analysis Of The Court's Decision, Rajeev R. Bhattacharya

Journal of International Business and Law

I explain the Nash Bargaining Solution and its generalizations. I discuss their pros and cons in the context of intellectual property litigation. I then provide a description and analysis of the Court's decision in VirnetX from this perspective.

The World Trade Organization Should Lyft The Globe Out Of Its Uber Problem, J. B. Bailey

Journal of International Business and Law

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Traditional Scheduling Versus Flexible Modular Scheduling On Academic Achievement, Kenny Val Holland

College of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the effects of gender and traditional or flexible modular scheduling participation on academic performance as measured by ACT Aspire Summative Assessment scores. Scores chosen for this study were from the 2018 10th-grade students in four Arkansas high schools. The samples were chosen from two schools participating in traditional scheduling and two schools participating in flexible modular scheduling. ACT Aspire Summative Assessment scores were used to provide the academic performance data for the dependent variable used in each hypothesis. During the spring semesters of 2018, the ACT Aspire Summative Assessment was administered to …

Helium In Stream Water As A Volcanic Monitoring Tool, W. Payton Gardner, David D. Susong

Geosciences Faculty Publications

We show that synoptic sampling of streams can be used to characterize volcanic volatiles in groundwater over large spatial scales. Synoptic sampling of dissolved noble gases, 222Rn, major ions, and stream discharge was carried out along a 30 km reach of the Gibbon River, near Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park, USA. Groundwater discharge location, volume, and composition were estimated by constrained calibration of a stream flow and solute transport model. Estimated groundwater composition from stream modeling was compared to shallow groundwater concentrations measured in nearby springs. 3He, 222Rn, and Cl− aq signatures in the Gibbon River are indicative …

An Electrochemical Instrument For The Analysis Of Heavy Metals In Water Via Anodic Stripping Coulometry For Applications In Remote Sensing., Kelsey Lynn Kaht

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

From the high levels of arsenic in groundwater in Bangladesh to the lead contamination of drinking water in Flint, Michigan, there are incidents across the globe that highlight the need for a reliable instrument capable of monitoring heavy metals remotely and continuously in a variety of geographical locations. Typical instrumentation for water analysis, such as ICP and AAS, must be housed in a central lab and relies on an operator traveling to the collection site, obtaining a sample, and transporting it back to the lab. This analysis provides a snapshot of the water quality that is limited to the specific …

Non-Invasive Detection And Assessment Of Coronary Stenosis From Blood Mean Residence Times., Javad Hashemi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coronary artery stenosis is an abnormal narrowing of a coronary artery caused by an atherosclerotic lesion that reduces lumen space. Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is the gold standard method to determine the severity of coronary stenosis based on the determination of rest and hyperemic pressure fields, but requires an invasive medical procedure. Normal FFR is 1.0 and FFR RT, to account for varying volume and flow rate of individual segments. Blood_RT was computed in 100 patients who had undergone the pressure-wire FFR procedure, and a threshold for Blood_RT was determined to assess the physiological significance of a stenosis, …

Electrochemical Determination Of Surface Area-To-Volume Ratio For Metal Nanoparticle Analysis., Jay Narayan Sharma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation describes an electrochemical approach for measuring the surface area-to-volume ratio (SA/V) of electrode-attached metal nanoparticles (NPs), which was used to analyze their size, aggregation state, and porosity. This dissertation further describes the effect of the metal NP electrode assembly method on the SA/V, which is related to metal NP catalytic activity and stability. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) in acid electrolyte followed by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) in KBr electrolyte allows the electrochemical measurement of the SA/V of electrode-attached Au nanospheres (NSs). In CV, the forward scan produces a thin surface Au₂O₃ layer on the Au NSs. …

Exploratory Learning Activities In The Physics Classroom: Contrasting Cases Versus A Rich Dataset., Campbell Rightmyer Bego

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In exploratory learning, students engage in an exploration activity on a new topic prior to instruction. This inversion of the traditional tell-then-practice order has been shown to benefit learning outcomes, especially conceptual knowledge and preparation for future learning, but not always. In three studies, the current work examines whether the type of exploration activity impacts learning mechanisms and outcomes, on the topic of gravitational field in undergraduate physics classrooms. Activities using either contrasting cases (CC) or a rich dataset (RD) are compared in two instructional orders, explore-first (EF) and instruct-first (IF). Learning outcomes measured procedural knowledge, conceptual knowledge, and performance …

Laser Spectroscopy Investigations Of Jet-Cooled Metal-Containing Free Radicals., Anam Chandra Paul

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Metal-containing free radicals are important intermediates in metal-surface reactions and the interactions between metals and organic molecules. Among metal-containing free radicals, monovalent derivatives of alkaline earth metals have been extensively investigated by using spectroscopic techniques in a gas phase, mainly in Broida ovens or under supersonic-jet-cooled conditions. In the present study, the results of performed spectroscopic investigations of both metal-containing monoalkoxides (CaOR) and metal oxides (MO) radicals have been reported. Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and dispersed fluorescence (DF) spectra of the electronic transition of the calcium CaOR radicals have been obtained under jet-cooled conditions. Complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and …

Gc×Gc-Ms And Parallel 2dlc-Ms Based Untargeted Metabolomics., Md Aminul Islam Prodhan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Untargeted metabolomics aims to analyze as many metabolites as possible in a biological system. Due to the vast complexity of the metabolome, bioanalytical platforms have been developed for untargeted metabolomics. While comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC×GC-MS) has been used in different scientific fields, its use in untargeted metabolomics is limited due to several challenges, such as complicated data analysis and limited accuracy of metabolite identification. Two-dimensional liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (2DLC-MS) has also been employed in untargeted metabolomics, but with limited metabolite coverage. This dissertation describes the efforts in developing new data analysis algorithms to improve the accuracy …

Automatic Exposure Control During Computed Tomography Scans Of The Head: Effects On Dose And Image Quality, Stephen D. Osborne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Automatic exposure control (AEC) is effective at reducing potentially harmful radiation doses without sacrificing image quality for many types of computed tomography (CT) scans. However, there is a need for more information regarding the use of AEC for CT head scans. This study was conducted at Johnson County Community Hospital in Mountain City, TN. Preexisting adult CT head scans (n)60 were randomly selected to form 2 stratified samples, (n)30 each. One sample used a standard protocol, and the other used a protocol with a mA-modulated AEC system, Siemens CARE Dose 4D. Causal-comparative analyses were conducted, and …

Iomt Malware Detection Approaches: Analysis And Research Challenges, Mohammad Wazid, Ashok Kumar Das, Joel J.P.C. Rodrigues, Sachin Shetty, Youngho Park

VMASC Publications

The advancement in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has changed the entire paradigm of computing. Because of such advancement, we have new types of computing and communication environments, for example, Internet of Things (IoT) that is a collection of smart IoT devices. The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is a specific type of IoT communication environment which deals with communication through the smart healthcare (medical) devices. Though IoT communication environment facilitates and supports our day-to-day activities, but at the same time it has also certain drawbacks as it suffers from several security and privacy issues, such as replay, man-in-the-middle, impersonation, …

Evaluation Of Modern Missing Data Handling Methods For Coefficient Alpha, Katerina Matysova

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

When assessing a certain characteristic or trait using a multiple item measure, quality of that measure can be assessed by examining the reliability. To avoid multiple time points, reliability can be represented by internal consistency, which is most commonly calculated using Cronbach’s coefficient alpha. Almost every time human participants are involved in research, there is missing data involved. Missing data means that even though complete data were expected to be collected, some data are missing. Missing data can follow different patterns as well as be the result of different mechanisms. One traditional way to deal with missing data is listwise …

A Mixed-Methods Study Of Entomology Incorporation In U.S. Secondary Science Instruction, Erin M. Ingram

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

To encourage understanding and appreciation of insects, entomology education advocates have supported and encouraged K-12 teachers to integrate insects and insect-related content into formal science instruction. However, research examining how and why science teachers incorporate entomology into secondary science courses is limited.

A sequential explanatory mixed-methods research study was conducted to address this gap. The study was conducted in two phases. During the first phase, quantitative survey research was conducted with a representative sample of 254 U.S. secondary life science teachers. During the subsequent qualitative phase, follow-up interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 18 survey participants and an …

Modeling Waterfowl Hunter And Ducks Unlimited Member Behavior Using Mark–Recapture Methods, Katherine Graham

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The number of individuals actively participating in waterfowl hunting has substantially declined since the 1980s, despite relatively abundant waterfowl populations and hunting opportunities. To avoid further losses in political support for wildlife management, losses in habitat conservation revenue, and broaden the base of waterfowl and wetland conservation support, there has been an increased focus on growing the number of waterfowl hunters and waterfowl and wetland conservation supporters. The purpose of this study was to estimate resident waterfowl hunter and Ducks Unlimited (DU) member recruitment rates, retention probabilities, and license/membership purchase probabilities; provide a better understanding of the factors influencing these …

Examining The Effects Of Greenland Ice Sheet Melting And Atlantic Meridional Shutdown On The Climate Of Scandinavia And The British Isles, Tyler Lemburg

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Earth’s climate has been rapidly changing over the last hundred years, and its global average temperature is rising. However, climate change is far more complicated than a simple increase in temperature. For example, it is theorized that certain regions of Earth, including Scandinavia and the British Isles, could actually become cooler through ongoing climate change processes. Two of these processes are Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) melting, and slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). This research examines if climate change, through GrIS melting and AMOC slowdown, could contribute to cooler, instead of warmer, temperatures in Scandinavia and the British …

Mammal Species Inventory Using Various Trapping Methods In Zone 4 Of Billy Barquedier National Park, Belize During Rainy Season, Mersady Redding

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Belize is a small country, but it is extremely ecologically diverse. Based on the few studies conducted in Belize, the abundance of mammals is low but diversity is high. Particular findings note the number and identity of species differed between four sites in the Maya Mountains of Belize, indicating that a data set from a single site is not representative of the Neotropical region. Insufficient data is available to estimate current species richness of many areas in Belize, including Billy Barquedier National Park (BBNP). The objective of this study was to explore trapping and documentation methods of terrestrial mammals in …

Dynamic Flood Modeling Essential To Assess The Coastal Impacts Of Climate Change, Patrick L. Barnard, Li H. Erikson, Amy C. Foxgrover, Juliette A.Finzi Hart, Patrick Limber, Andrea C. O’Neill, Maarten Van Ormondt, Sean Vitousek, Nathan Wood, Maya K. Hayden, Jeanne M. Jones

Marine Science

Coastal inundation due to sea level rise (SLR) is projected to displace hundreds of millions of people worldwide over the next century, creating significant economic, humanitarian, and national-security challenges. However, the majority of previous efforts to characterize potential coastal impacts of climate change have focused primarily on long-term SLR with a static tide level, and have not comprehensively accounted for dynamic physical drivers such as tidal non-linearity, storms, short-term climate variability, erosion response and consequent flooding responses. Here we present a dynamic modeling approach that estimates climate-driven changes in flood-hazard exposure by integrating the effects of SLR, tides, waves, storms, …

Vocational And Life Skills Quarterly Report: Grant Cycle 3, Quarter 6 October-December 2019, Uno Nebraska Center For Justice Research, Katelynn Towne

Reports

This report presents quarterly data and evaluation updates for the Vocational and Life Skills Program (VLS) through Quarter Six of Grant Cycle Three. VLS was created by the Nebraska Legislative Bill 907 in 2014 to reduce recidivism and increase meaningful employment for Nebraskans convicted of a crime. The report contains 1) descriptions of the eight funded programs across the state, 2) a snapshot of program participation across the programs, 3) demographics of the participants served by the VLS initiative, and 4) participation breakdowns and descriptions of the skills participants are gaining through VLS programming. VLS continues to update service providers …

Coy Arjate Adrusted Response Adaptive Randomization Designs With Targeted Learning, Hai Zhu

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Since Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the very first draft guidance in 2010, adaptive designs have been considered to be one of the most promising approaches to make drug development more efficient and less costly. Two approaches, covariate-adjusted response-adaptive (CARA) randomization and adaptive seamless phase II/III design (ASD) have garnered growing attention recently. However, most of the CARA designs are based on parametric models and suffered from model misspecification. The research of incorporating CARA into ASD is also limited and whether type I error rate can be controlled has not been answered. In this dissertation, a new family of …

Studying The Properties Of Seamless Phase Ii/Phase Iii Clinical Trials Under Covariate Adaptive Randomization, Garrett Miller

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Covariate adaptive randomization is an allocation procedure used in clinical trials that seeks to balance treatment groups. While this method has been shown to reduce bias due to imbalanced treatment groups, the effects of covariate adaptive randomization have not been studied under seamless Phase II/Phase III clinical trials that incorporate short-term endpoint information and treatment selection. Therefore, this analysis sought to determine whether these adaptive randomization methods can be applied to seamless Phase II/Phase III trials while preserving Type I error. In addition, this analysis sought to create R-packages that employ seamless Phase II/Phase III techniques to provide analysis tools …

Clinical And Demographic Factors Associated With Peg-Asparaginase-Related Toxicities In Patients With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Priyadarshani Dharia

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Introduction: Polyethylene glycol (PEG)-asparaginase is one of the first-line drugs in pediatric ALL treatment. Although a complete and prolonged treatment with PEGasparaginase has been instrumental in improving the survival of ALL patients, it is associated with four common toxicities: hypersensitivity, hyperbilirubinemia, pancreatitis, and venous thromboembolism (VTE). PEG-asparaginase-related toxicities may require modifications and delays in treatment, which often leads to poor treatment outcomes. Previous studies of PEG-asparaginase-related toxicities have mainly focused on individual toxicities. Further, these studies were conducted in study populations which were predominantly self-reported non-Hispanic whites. Therefore, there is a gap in the knowledge regarding the cumulative burden of …

Quantifying The Financial & Clinical Impact Of Annual Vs. Biennial Mammography Screening, Danmeng Huang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Current guidelines for screening mammography recommend different start ages and intervals for women with average cancer risk. Longer intervals between mammograms allow more time for a tumor to grow, to become symptomatic and clinically detectable, and more likely to be at advanced stage. Existing literature on the associations between mammography screening frequency and risk of more advanced breast cancer have mixed results. Studies have showed that advanced breast cancer costs more to treat, but real-world cost estimates following different mammography screening frequencies are unavailable. To fill the gaps, this dissertation aimed to quantify the clinical and financial impact following annual …