Digital Commons Network^™

Impacts Of Storm On Sea Ice: From Case Study To Climate Scale Analysis, Liran Peng

Atmospheric Sciences

Recent studies have shown that intense and long-lasting storms potentially facilitate sea ice melting. Under the background of extratropical storm tracks poleward shift, significant reductions of Arctic sea ice coverage, and thinning of sea ice thickness over the last several decades, a better understanding on how storms impact sea ice mass balance is obviously of great importance to better predict future sea ice and the Arctic climate changes. This thesis presents a multi-scale study on how storms impact sea ice, consisting of three different parts of the effort. In the first part, we examined the impacts of the 2016 summer …

Resource Limitation Of Autotrophs And Heterotrophs In Boreal Forest Headwater Streams, Sophie Alden Weaver

Biological Sciences

In stream biofilms, autotrophs and heterotrophs are responsible for the majority of in stream nutrient transformations. In boreal forest catchments, discontinuous permafrost can lead to variation in nutrient and energy resources, which can control competition for nutrients between autotrophs and heterotrophs within these biofilms. I was interested in determining what resources control nutrient utilization by autotrophs and heterotrophs in headwater streams in the boreal forest of interior Alaska. I hypothesized that the outcome of competition between autotrophs and heterotrophs for inorganic nutrients would be dependent on the availability of (i) organic carbon, (ii) light, or (iii) inorganic nutrients. To measure …

Phylogenetic Relationships Within The Western United States Species Of Lepidium L., Robert W. Lichvar

Chemistry and Biochemistry

The genus Lepidium L. is one of two global genera in the Brassicaceae. The genus has been arranged by species (geographic regions) worldwide, but no formal levels below the genus are recognized. Recent efforts to evaluate phylogenetic relationships have been performed at the global scale for about 20 percent of the species in the genus. The genus is recognized as having subtle and variable morphological characteristics to define species limits. Several nuclear and chloroplast DNA methods have been used to construct phylogenetic relationships within the genus. Incongruences between various phylogenetic trees indicate likely hybridization and/or hybrid origin of multiple species …

Modeling Volcanic Ash And Sulfur Dioxide With The Weather Research Forecasting With Chemistry (Wrf-Chem) Model, Sean D. Egan

Chemistry and Biochemistry

The Weather Research Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model is capable of modeling volcanic emissions of ash, sulfur dioxide and water vapor. Here, it is applied to eruptions from three volcanoes: the 2008 eruption of Kasatochi Volcano in Alaska, the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland and the 2019 eruption of Raikoke in the Kurile Islands. WRF-Chem's ability to model volcanic emissions dispersion is validated through comparison of model output to remote sensing, in situ and field measurements. A sensitivity of the model to modeled plume height is discussed. This work also modifies the base WRF-Chem code in three ways and …

Effects Of Wind Energy Utilization On Long-Run Fuel Consumption In Remote Alaska Microgrids, Laura K. Vaught

Economics

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the long-run reduction in diesel fuel consumption driven by wind energy utilization in remote Alaska electrical grids. Models control for other fuel consumption determinants including customer base and transmission and distribution system efficiency. Fourteen rural communities that integrated wind energy into their diesel powered electrical grids are analyzed within a dynamic panel framework using monthly utility data spanning sixteen years, from 2001 to 2017. An auto-regressive distributed lag approach is taken to address cointegration and presence of a unit root in the data. Long-run parameters are estimated for the full dataset as well …

Engineering Education Professional Development For Teachers In The Delta Greely School District, Jennifer Dougherty

Education

Over the last two decades engineering has become a new focus in many science curricula, in part due to the emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education. Most teachers lack training or education in engineering and are not adequately prepared to implement effective engineering education. This research identifies the needs and constraints of one district, the Delta Greely School District (DGSD), in Delta Junction, AK (approximately 750 students district-wide). Surveys were distributed to fifty teachers and five administrators to gather information on attitudes and beliefs surrounding engineering education. Focus groups were conducted with teachers and administrators to better …

Development Of A Nonformal Education Program Evaluation Plan: An Evaluation Design For Two Youth Programs In Denali National Park And Preserve, Dana Lindauer

Education

This project proposes an evaluation design for two youth programs that operate out of the Murie Science and Learning Center in Denali National Park and Preserve. The two programs, Denali Backcountry Expeditions and Denali Summer Science Academy, are offered to Alaskan high school and college aged students and are co-managed by the National Park Service and Alaska Geographic. A formative, utilization-focused evaluation for instructors and managers of the programs was created. The evaluation seeks to facilitate targeted program development through articulating program goals and assessing participant outcomes related to these goals. In an effort to establish collaborative goals, eleven stakeholders …

Video Feedback Efficacy At Romig Middle School, Christopher D. Fliss

Education

Romig Middle School in Anchorage, Alaska, is consistently ranked within the top ten most diverse middle schools in the nation. The main objective of this research will be to determine if video production students meet learning objectives better or worse with video feedback given. The secondary goal is to measure the efficacy of using video feedback as a delivery source of evaluation to students at the eighth-grade level. The methods involve pre-and-post class surveys on the feedback methods and quantitative data gathered on improved technique. The results of this research will guide the use of video feedback in video production …

Classification And Signal Processing Of Radio Backscatter From Meteors, Jared Klemm

Engineering

Ground-based radar systems are routinely used to detect the trails of ionized particles that are formed by meteoroids falling through Earth's atmosphere. The most common use for these meteor radar systems is for atmospheric wind studies of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (80-100 km altitude). Because these meteor trails are embedded in the background winds of the middle atmosphere, atmospheric winds in that region can be measured by observing the radial velocities of the trails. There has also been a considerable amount of research over the last few decades into estimation of neutral atmospheric temperatures using the measured decay time …

In‐Situ Extraction And Impregnation Of Black Walnut Husk Into Polyethylene Film Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide With An Ethanol Modifier, Jonathan Wenzel, Veronica R. Moorman, Lihua Wang, Isaiah Spencer-Williams, Mitchell Hall, Cheryl Samaniego, Michelle Ammerman

Chemistry & Biochemistry Publications

Walnuts are commonly cultivated for their kernel, which is a rich source of antioxidant phenolic compounds. The husk likewise contains antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds, but is typically discarded without further processing. Antioxidant compounds are useful in creating active packaging films, but typically decompose at melt extrusion temperatures in polymer processing. Due to carbon dioxide's low critical point and ability to swell polymer films, supercritical carbon dioxide may be used to impregnate phenolic compounds into polymers. For this study, a novel technique is used to simultaneously produce walnut husk extracts and impregnate the extract into polymer films in the same batch …

The Influence Of Publicized Suicides On Depressive Symptoms, Kallie R. Stephens, Andrew Terranova

Honors Theses

The aim of the current study was to examine how media influences cognitions and emotions. It was hypothesized that those who viewed a media report on suicide would have higher levels of death thought accessibility, while also displaying a more negative mood. Gender differences were also considered. The study consisted of 71 participants, predominantly White (84.5%) with an average age of 19.93 (SD = 5.41). The design of the study was experimental in nature. Participants viewed either a neutral news report or a news report on suicide. After reading, participants completed a word completion task to measure death thought accessibility …

Predation Effects On Mid-Marsh Ribbed Mussel Mortality, Cluster Size, And Facilitation Of Cordgrass Growth, Colten Winter, Keith Walters

Honors Theses

Reciprocal facilitation between Geukensia demissa, ribbed mussels, and Sporobolus alterniflorus, cordgrass, has a positive effect on salt marsh ecosystems. Mussel clusters enhance cordgrass growth and drought resistance and cordgrass provides attachment and shade for mussel aggregations. Along with benefits for both mussels and cordgrass, the mutualism facilitates increased biodiversity and shoreline stabilization and enhances marsh ecosystem functions. Aspects of mussel patch configuration including cluster size, perimeter and connectivity modulate the reciprocal facilitation effects of cordgrass and mussels on marsh ecosystems. In a northern South Carolina marsh system, mussel patch configuration positively influenced cordgrass biomass. Predation affected mussel patch …

Comparative Study Of 10 X-Str Markers In Populations Of Northeast Argentina, G. Paula Di Santo Meztler, Laura A. Glesmann, Esther Esteban, Santiago Del Palacio, Marta G. Méndez, Cecilia Inés Catanesi

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

In northeast Argentina, different Amerindian communities share territory and history with settlers, mainly Europeans. Due to miscegenation, the current Argentinian population has a particular structure that can be de- scribed through the X chromosome variation. Our objectives are: to describe the variation of 10 X-STRs in urban populations of the Argentinian regions known as Gran Chaco and Mesopotamia; to report the forensic parameters of these STRs, and to estimate the European and indigenous genetic components in these regions. Population and forensic parameters were estimated for 419 individuals from the analysed populations, including two indigenous groups, Wichí and Mocoví, previously reported. …

Replication Study: Biomechanical Remodeling Of The Microenvironment By Stromal Caveolin-1 Favors Tumor Invasion And Metastasis, Mee Rie Sheen, Jennifer L. Fields, Brian Northan, Judith Lacoste, Lay-Hong Ang, Steven Fiering

Dartmouth Scholarship

As part of the Reproducibility Project: Cancer Biology we published a Registered Report (Fiering et al., 2015) that described how we intended to replicate selected experiments from the paper ‘Biomechanical remodeling of the microenvironment by stromal caveolin-1 favors tumor invasion and metastasis’ (Goetz et al., 2011). Here we report the results. Primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (pMEFs) expressing caveolin 1 (Cav1WT) demonstrated increased extracellular matrix remodeling in vitro compared to Cav1 deficient (Cav1KO) pMEFs, similar to the original study (Goetz et al., 2011). In vivo, we found higher levels of intratumoral stroma remodeling, determined by fibronectin fiber orientation, in tumors …

Student Voice: A Qualitative Study Investigating Students' Experiences And Teachers’ Perceptions Of Instructional Practice Across Learning Levels, Lisa A. Moore

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dissertations

Using a 360-degree approach, this qualitative case study compared the experiences of students and the perceptions of teachers concerning instructional practice across learning levels in a northwest Georgia high school. The purpose was to use student voice to inform administrators of teachers’ and students’ classroom engagement. Using nine math classes across three learning levels (foundations algebra, on-level algebra, and advanced algebra), the study used open-ended surveys to collect self-reported data from students and teachers to identify common themes of learning and teaching practices. The common themes identified agreements and collaborative strategies between students and teachers at three different learning levels …

Thinking Beyond The Text: Examining Teachers’ Dispositions Of Critical Thinking In Elementary Social Studies Classrooms Through The Use Of Socratic Seminars, Jacqueline Hunter

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

Research shows that students need opportunities to engage in strategies that will enhance their critical thinking skills. With pressure on teachers to prepare students for state assessments, teachers teach to the test, not giving students chances to dialogue with their peers. To produce citizens in a genuinely democratic world, the voices of students is crucial. Socratic Seminar is a classroom methodology that can foster critical thinking skills and cultivate a democratic learning environment. The purpose of this participatory action research study is to examine teachers’ dispositions of critical thinking in elementary social studies classrooms as students think beyond the text. …

Teacher Perspectives On Content Literacy In Elementary Schools, Jontia Grace

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

Content area teachers are expected to incorporate literacy strategies in their classrooms, despite the fact that all content area teachers do no attend professional learning communities to learn effective literacy strategies. This study is needed because many content area teachers lack the necessary knowledge and skills about literacy to be successful in the classroom.

The goal of this study was to impact 5^th grade students’ literacy abilities by supporting teacher development by changing their planning, instruction, and assessment practice. This was done by implementing effective research-based strategies in vocabulary instruction, reading and comprehension instruction, writing instruction, and increasing parental …

Archives Annual Report, 2018-2019, Meg Miner

Administrative Reports

No abstract provided.

Sleep Aspects And Sleep Disorders In Children And Adolescents, Sameh Morkous Md, Faan

Department of Pediatrics

No abstract provided.

Polyvinyl Alcohol Hydrogels, Payal Hukeri

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Independent Study

White matter in the brain is anisotropic, which means it has directionally dependent properties, and has a stiffness of 1-3 KPa. The objective of this project was to create PVA that mimicked these properties well. A hydrogel that mimicked the properties of the brain was to be created and the process had to be easily replicable. Polyvinyl Alcohol is a water soluble synthetic polymer and can be made into a hydrogel. From the DST and Biaxial testing that was completed this semester, as well as the Uniaxial and Rheometry testing completed in previous semesters, the mechanical properties of PVA have …

Attitudes Towards Teaching Computational Thinking And Computer Science: Insights From Educator Interviews And Focus Groups, Jorge Valenzuela

Journal of Computer Science Integration

In the last three years, integration of both computational thinking (CT) and computer science (CS) into K-12 instruction has become a focus of many schools throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States. With this new widespread demand, educational leaders and educators are focusing efforts on understanding the core concepts and practices of CT and CS, looking for logical connections for integrating across curriculum, and seeking strategies for implementing a wide variety of educational technology tools (apps and devices). This phenomenological research study was designed to gather depth information from 14 K-16 educators through both semi-structured interviews and two …

Structural And Geochronologic Constraints On The Duration Of The Picuris Orogeny And Demise Of An Orogenic Plateau, Northern Nm, Daniel J. Young

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Metasedimentary and igneous basement rocks in northern New Mexico record episodic pulses of tectonism during cratonic growth from 1.8 to 1.38 Ga. Continued challenges involve parsing the deformational features attributable to the Yavapai Orogeny (1.71-1.68 Ga), Mazatzal orogeny (1.66-1.60 Ga), and Picuris orogeny (1.5-1.38 Ga) in this region and understanding how older structures may have been overprinted and reactivated to explain the observed strain. This paper presents regional cross-sections of the 1.7 Ga Vadito, 1.68 to 1.50 Ga Hondo, and 1.5-1.45 Ga Trampas groups of the Picuris Mountains and Rio Mora areas of northern New Mexico combined with new geochronologic …

Newsroom, Georgia Southern University

Newsroom (2006-2023)

• Georgia Historical Society, Georgia Southern University recognize Armstrong State University with historical marker on Savannah campus

My News, Georgia Southern University

My News (2014-2020)

• Armstrong State University Historical Marker unveiling takes place Dec. 17
• Georgia Southern psychology graduate looking to make diference in children's lives
• Georgia Southern first-generation student graduates magna cum laude
• Georgia Southern graduate rediscovers passion for art in Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art
• Georgia Southern graduate dedicated to giving back, will join Peace Corps in May
• Georgia Southern student overcomes hurdles to complete her degree after 21 years
• From apartheid to academia, Georgia Southern graduate student beats odds to earn degree
• Georgia Southern graduate students gain real-world experience through mock trial

Allen V. Campbell Clerk's Record V. 22 Dckt. 48075

Idaho Supreme Court Records & Briefs, All

No abstract provided.

Network-Aware Adjacent Channel Interference Rejection And Out Of Band Emission Suppression, Berker Pekoz, Selcuk Kose, Huseyin Arslan

USF Patents

A system and method for adaptively utilizing transmitter windowing, receiver windowing and alignment signals for minimizing interference and maximizing capacity and energy efficiency based upon the received power ratios of links in adjacent bands of a cellular communication network.

N-Amino Peptide Beta-Sheet Mimics For The Treatment Of Alzheimer's Disease, Juan R. Del Valle

USF Patents

Disclosed herein are compounds comprising short N-aminated peptides and compositions comprising the same. The disclosed compounds and compositions maybe used in methods of inhibiting amyloid-beta aggregation and treating Alzheimer's disease.

Load-Adjustable Constant-Force Mechanisms, Steven Lawrence Hasara, Craig Perry Lusk

USF Patents

A compliant crank slider with adjustable constant-force output. Constant-force mechanisms (CFM) are used to maintain a constant output reaction force throughout a large range of compressive motion. The invention improves on existing CFM by introducing a second degree of freedom that adjusts the mechanism's output without changing its kinematic structure. This second degree of freedom is the rotation of a compliant beam about its longitudinal axis as it is constrained to the initial plane of bending. The resulting change in the beam's stiffness allows for adjustment to a specifiable range of constant-force outputs.

Best Practices And Metrics For Virtual Reality User Interfaces, Jay Byam

Computer Science

Virtual Reality (VR) technology has become increasingly effective and accessible within the past decade [15]. With this increase in the technology’s prevalence and cultural significance, certain interaction techniques and design choices have emerged as the most widely used and recommended. This research effort employs a VR experiment in which multiple selection methods, interface placements, and navigation techniques are compared side-by-side, and performance metrics and preference data are collected. Both best practice and to-be-avoided methods are examined, and the performance and preference data is analyzed. Determinations made based on the data gathered are partly in-line with expectations according to best practices, …

Enabling Data-Driven Transportation Safety Improvements In Rural Alaska, F. Lawrence Bennett, Jonathan B. Metzgar, Robert A. Perkins

CSET Project Reports

Safety improvements require funding. A clear need must be demonstrated to secure funding. For transportation safety, data, especially data about past crashes, is the usual method of demonstrating need. However, in rural locations, such data is often not available, or is not in a form amenable to use in funding applications. This research aids rural entities, often federally recognized tribes and small villages acquire data needed for funding applications. Two aspects of work product are the development of a traffic counting application for an iPad or similar device, and a review of the data requirements of the major transportation funding …