Digital Commons Network^™

Potential Benefits From Practices In Construction Waste Material Controls, Abdulaziz Alwadhenani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Construction waste is generated from the various construction activities of building, maintaining, renovating, and demolishing infrastructure facilities. These materials include, but are not limited to, concrete, rubble, fiberglass, asphalt, bricks, wood, and scrap metals. In the last few decades, there has been a significant increase in the volume of construction and demolition (C&D) waste materials in the United States (U.S.). Between 1990 and 2017, the total increase in debris generation has surpassed 320%. According to U.S. solid waste management statistics, more than 50% of C&D waste has been and continues to be transported to landfills. The disposal of C&D waste …

Association Of Common Chronic Pain Conditions To Incident Alzheimer’S Disease And Related Dementias In Two Cohorts Of Older Medicare Beneficiaries, Sumaira Khalid

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Objective: The purpose of this research was to study the collective and incremental association of common non-cancer chronic pain conditions (NCPC) to risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD); to explore the potential mediating influence of mood and sleep disorders; and to assess the potential synergistic effects of NCPC’s and multimorbidity on ADRD risk. This research also aimed to study the contribution of NCPC to ADRD risk in poor, rural, underserved United States populations who suffer a disproportionate burden of ADRD risk factors. To achieve these goals, this dissertation pursued three specific aims: 1) assess the association of …

Investigation Of Particle Measurement In Different Dilution Ratios With Gasoline Direct Injection And Port Fuel Injection, John Adam Phillips

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Ambient air quality has been a concern in the United States since the mid-1900’s, forcing legislations like the Air Pollution Control Act and Clean Air Act necessary to bring focus on air pollution and quality. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to update the requirements for more efficient vehicles and emissions sampling methods. Today the EPA has implemented regulations on modern spark ignited engines without any major focus on the type of injection technologies being used. While particle matter (PM) is a requirement to measure for a vehicle certification, more research should focus on the particle number (PN) measurements that …

Comparative Assessment Of Different Ultra-Low Nox Measurement Instruments For Heavy-Duty Diesel Engines, Diego Bernabe Mejia

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Constant Volume Sampling (CVS) systems are an approved method for emission testing as stated in CFR Title 40 Part 1065 Engine Emission Testing Program. For future near zero emission vehicles, the emission measurement equipment must verify the results with the same accuracy as the limits in the past. The most critical values are the limitations for THC, NO_x and particulate matter.

The objective of this study was aimed at identifying challenges associated with measuring system-out emissions at proposed ultra-low NO_x (ULNO_x) levels - 0.02 (g/bhp-hr) and system robustness. The study compared a variety of existing instrument …

Adolescent Adventures In Geology: Impacts Of Geoscience-Focused Stem Education Combined With Recreation Activities On Adolescents’ Perceived Self-Efficacy, Lauren Janowicz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Quality, informal learning techniques combined with outdoor adventure recreation, or adventure STEM programming, is a potentially powerful complement to and extension of formal education (Fu et al., 2015). To address this underexplored field, West Virginia University (WVU) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) partnered to create a geology STEM, outdoor adventure recreation camp. This thesis research project employed qualitative directed content analysis to examine the potential impacts of this adventure STEM program on participants’ perceptions of their outdoor recreation (OR) self-efficacy (Bandura, 1994; Mittelstaedt et al., 2009). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 adolescent participants with an average age …

Pulmonary Immune Responses To Respirable Elongate Mineral Particles Of Asbestiform And Non-Asbestiform Morphologies, Timur Khaliullin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Inhalation exposure to asbestiform elongate mineral particles (EMPs) may cause pulmonary fibrosis, lung and pleural cancer. At the same time, epidemiological evidence for non-asbestiform EMP pathogenicity is scarce, with little if any risk of cancer, but consistent findings of pneumoconiosis and increased mortality. Globally, conditions caused by asbestos exposures contribute most to the occupational cancer burden and are responsible for the increasing mortality for occupational respiratory diseases. Immunological components of the fiber-induced lesions are extremely understudied, partly due to the lack of comparable test articles. In this study I utilized respirable preparations of asbestiform and non-asbestiform riebeckite and tremolite to …

Predictors Of Cardiovascular And Gastrointestinal Disorders, Inappropriate Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Use, And Alzheimer’S Disease And Related Dementia In Older Adults With Osteoarthritis, Jayeshkumar Patel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative arthritis affecting over 30 million Americans most of whom are over 65 years or older. Its clinical management is complicated by several disease- and treatment-specific factors. These include the co-occurrence of cardiovascular and gastrointestinal disorders (CV-GID), the inappropriate use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) to manage pain, and the risk of certain age-related chronic conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD). Moreover, older adults with OA are at a higher risk of CV-GID, inappropriate NSAID use, and ADRD. Additionally, these factors can also affect one another in both a positive and a negative way. …

Adaptation Of Coal Mine Floor Rating (Cmfr) To Eastern U.S. Coal Mines, Sena Cicek

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Floor heave—the excessive deformation and failure of floor strata—is a serious problem for many underground coal mining operations in the U.S. There is an accepted floor heave design methodology developed for the Illinois basin coal mines (Gadde, 2009). However, for Eastern U.S. coal mines in the Appalachian region, there is not any systematic design method to assess floor heave potential. In order to prevent stability problems associated with floor failure and to ensure the safety of the miners in this region, a systematic and proactive method to assess the potential of floor stability that also takes the floor failure mechanisms …

Respiratory Flow Characteristics Of Intensive Care Healthcare Workers Performing Patient Care Activities, Shawn R. Williamson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In the United States, under OSHA regulations, all respirators used in the workplace must be certified by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Under current NIOSH standards, loose-fitting powered air-purifying respirators (PAPR) must provide a minimum operational flow of 170 liters per minute. The objective of this study was to characterize the breathing flow rates of nine health care workers during patient care activities typically performed in a hospital's intensive care unit. This characterization will be used to determine the feasibility of lowering the minimum operational flow rate of PAPRS used in health care settings.

Each participant …

Development, Analysis And Case Studies Of Impact Resistant Steel Sets For Underground Roof Fall Rehabilitation, Dakota D. Faulkner

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Underground mines often experience roof falls in entries, crosscuts, and intersections of active mining sections, main travel ways, and belt entries. Roof fall heights greater than 20 ft (6 m) make re-bolting of the newly exposed roof dangerous and impractical. To protect mine personnel, belts, moving vehicles, and other equipment, mine operators typically install steel structures such as square or arch sets in the roof fall areas. Wood lagging is usually installed between the steel-sets to enclose the area and protect the entry from recurring falls. Usually the void space above the steel-sets and wood lagging is backfilled. However, backfilling …

Energy Forensics Analysis, Rupa Das

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The energy consumed by a building can reveal information about the occupants and their activities inside the building. This could be utilized by industries and law enforcement agencies for commercial or legal purposes. Utility data from Smart Meter (SM) readings can reveal detailed information that could be mapped to foretell resident occupancy and type of appliance usage over desired time intervals. However, obtaining SM data in the United States is laborious and subjected to legal and procedural constraints. This research develops a user-driven simulation tool with realistic data options and assumptions of potential human behavior to determine energy usage patterns …

Pilot Study Of Behavioral Activation As Adjunct Treatment For Depression In Primary Care, Lindsay Ellen Toler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Many individuals receiving care at a predominantly free primary health care clinic in the northern part of West Virginia are experiencing depression, and medication therapy is the most common form of management with limited resources for psychosocial treatment. Brief psychosocial therapy interventions provided by the primary care provider should be explored as an adjunct treatment for this population in the primary care setting.

A pilot study was conducted to explore the integration of behavioral activation, a brief psychosocial intervention focused on decreasing depressed behavior by increasing nondepressed behavior to reinforce corresponding improvements in mood. Eligible patients were invited to attend …

Understanding The Host Immune Response Against Pseudomonas Aeruginosa To Develop Novel Therapeutics And Vaccines, Emel Sen Kilic

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative opportunistic bacterium that causes a broad range of acute and chronic infections. The high adaptability and emergence of multidrug-resistant strains of this bacterium pose a significant threat to human health. Particularly, pneumonia caused by this pathogen is associated with high morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. To prevent these infections, we aimed to develop novel vaccine strategies by characterizing the host immune response against P. aeruginosa. During respiratory infections, P. aeruginosa first contacts with epithelial cells along the respiratory tract. Using RNA-sequencing, we were able to characterize transcriptional changes of the epithelial cells in …

Chlordiazepoxide Increases Risky Choice, Devin Andrew Galdieri

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Probability discounting is a measure of risky choice that is correlated with maladaptive behavior and psychological disorders. Benzodiazepines are a class of drug on which relatively little risky-choice research has been conducted, particularly under conditions of chronic drug exposure. Chlordiazepoxide, a standard benzodiazepine, was administered to rats that had been trained to respond on a risky-choice task in which a choice was available between a single food pellet with 100% certainty or three food pellets with probabilities of delivery that decreased across each experimental session. During baseline, responding was sensitive to the programmed contingencies and larger-reinforcer choice decreased as the …

Effect Of Particle Concentration, Sealing Condition And Breathing Rate On Total Inward Leakage For N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators, Taoreed T. Lawal

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Several researchers have considered the relationship between total inward leakage (TIL) and other parameters such as sealing condition, particle concentration, type of particulate material breathing parameters, etc., however, there is dearth of information on the effects of varying particle concentration on the penetration efficiency of filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs), hence, this study aims to study the effect of varying NaCl particle concentration, sealing condition and breathing rate on the TIL as a result of the filtering efficiency of the filters.

To achieve this, we followed the sampling procedure used by He et al., 2014. Four different sealing conditions (SCs) namely; …

Assessment Of Unmanned Aerial Systems And Lidar For The Utility Vegetation Management Of Electrical Distribution Rights-Of-Ways, Matthew R. Walker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Utility Vegetation Management (UVM) is often the largest maintenance expense for many utilities. However, with advances in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS; or more commonly, “drones”) and lidar technologies, vegetation managers may be able to more rapidly and accurately identify vegetation threats to critical infrastructures. The goal of this study was to assess the utility of Geodetics’ UAS-lidar system for vegetation threat assessment for 1.6 km of a distribution electric circuit. We investigated factors which contribute to accurate tree crown detection and segmentation of trees from within an UAS-lidar derived point cloud, and the factors which contribute to accurate tree risk …

Microbial Responses To Unconventional Oil And Gas Development May Alter Ecosystem Function In Headwater Streams, Rachel Michaels

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The demand for natural gas, and the need for efficient extraction, has led to the development of unconventional oil and natural gas (UOG) techniques. Due to the novelty of UOG, the potential impacts to freshwater ecosystems are not fully understood. We used a dual pronged approach to study the effects of UOG development on microbial biodiversity and function via a laboratory microcosm experiment and a survey study of streams with and without UOG development within their watersheds. The laboratory microcosm study simulated stream contamination with produced water, a byproduct of UOG operation, using sediment collected from one high water-quality stream …

Development Of Software-Only Simulation Test Beds (Sost) For Spacecraft And Smallsats, Scott Alan Zemerick

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Software-only-Simulation Test Beds (SoST) are beginning to become more popular among aircraft, spacecraft, and smallsat embedded system developers due to the high cost of duplicating hardware test beds.

SoSTs provide a software-only, or virtual test bed, that creates a “digital twin” that contains software models of the ETUs and often includes modeled components such as flight computers, busses (e.g., MIL-STD-1553, SPI, I2C), compact PCI (cPCI) backplane cards, sensors, and actuators. The ultimate goal of a SoST is for it to run the native system software compiled-binary on its native CPU architecture (e.g., PowerPC, LEON3/4, ARM) on a standard X86 personal …

Sergei Prokofiev's Third Piano Sonata, Op. 28: Stylistic Analysis And Performance Suggestions, Youngju Lee

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) was one of the greatest Russian pianists and composers of the twentieth century. He established his own musical style by combining classical form and modern compositional techniques. He composed a variety of piano music including nine piano sonatas. This paper is a study of the third piano sonata in A minor, op. 28.

Prokofiev’s music can be classified into three periods: a Russian Period, a Foreign Period, and a Soviet Period. It is possible to identify Prokofiev’s compositional styles by studying his piano sonatas because he composed piano sonatas during the entire course of his life. In …

Individual Differences In Social Decision-Making Preferences, Kelly R. Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Most research on decision making to date has focused primarily on the individual decision maker and has not looked at social aspects of decision making. A review of decision making in older adults indicated that older adults rate their own decision-making competence as worse than younger adults, even though not all facets of decision making decline with age (Strough, Bruine de Bruin, & Peters, 2015). Because of social roles that contribute to gender differences, women are theorized to be more interpersonally-oriented than men, suggesting that they may prefer to make decisions with others (Eagly, 1983). As population age continues to …

Evaluation Of Fitts’ Throughput As A Possible Performance Measure For Manual Assembly Tasks, Pradyumna Bettagere Jagadish

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Assembly lines are the backbone of the manufacturing sector. Workers at the assembly lines are expected to perform fast pace hand-arm exertions with precision and accuracy. To protect the workers from injuries, OSHA mandates the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) including gloves. Certain assembly operations require the use of special gloves. Some of these gloves can inhibit hand performance, further increasing the task difficulty. The Index of Difficulty (ID) is a metric measured in ‘bits’ quantifies task difficulty through the quotient of target width and target motion, i.e., distance travelled. The time required to complete the target motion is …

Solutions To Some Mine Subsidence Research Challenges, Jian Yang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objective of this work is to address three challenging topics, (1) effects of overburden key strata on subsurface subsidence; (2) effects of longwall subsidence on interstate highways and highway bridges; and (3) effects of dewatering mine water on surface subsidence over inactive room-and-pillar mines, in mine subsidence and to continue improvement of mine safety and health by reducing mine-subsidence related hazards.

Surface and subsurface subsidence events induced by underground mining activities are often capable of causing significant disturbances not only to surface structures, but also to subsurface structures. In this work, models and techniques to study three challenging topics …

Cerebrovascular Dysfunction And Degeneration In Alzheimer’S Disease Pathophysiology, Dominic Dimitri Quintana

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a terminal illness and the most common form of dementia, which disproportionately affects the aged population. The pathophysiology of AD is characterized by neurodegeneration that slowly progresses, affecting regions of the brain that are involved in learning, memory, language, and executive function. In patients with the disease, early symptoms include non-disruptive forgetfulness that evolves into the inability to form new memories and ultimately the loss of autonomy at late stages. Histopathological hallmarks in the brain from patients with AD is the presence of amyloid-β (Aβ)-plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) deposited in the parenchyma. Since the discovery …

Why Are They Wrong? Exploring Surrogates’ Accuracy When Predicting Patient Treatment Preferences, Rachael Lynn Spalding

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Surrogate decision making is common in medical settings, particularly regarding treatment decisions for patients at end-of-life. When making decisions on behalf of patients, surrogates are most often encouraged to use the substituted judgment standard and make the decision that the patient would make if he or she were able to express a choice. A significant body of research, using patient-surrogate pairs and hypothetical vignettes, has documented that surrogates tend to inaccurately predict patient preferences when making these decisions (Shalowitz et al., 2006). This results in treatment decisions that do not match what the patient would have selected. Various factors that …

The Dark Tetrad, Social Dominance Orientation, And Online Political Discussion, Cory D. Taylor

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Previous literature into online trolling behavior has focused upon the role of the Dark Tetrad and political measures separately. This study extended the existing body of research by examining the relationship between the Dark Tetrad personality traits, social dominance orientation (SDO) and online political trolling in the United States of America. The data was collected using an online questionnaire from American users of Facebook and Reddit in the summer of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter movement, and in the runup to a hotly contested national election. Positive correlations were found between all of the Dark Tetrad traits, …

The Pattern Of Odontogenic Referred Pain, James J. Poulos

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: Referred odontogenic pain (RP) is a phenomenon that is seen regularly in dentistry and it is not extensively understood. It can make formulating a proper diagnosis difficult and its presence can lead to inappropriate treatment.

Methods: 250 patients experiencing odontogenic pain within the dental clinics of West Virginia University were surveyed. The survey inquired about the patient’s biographical information, medical history, characteristics of the pain, the presence and location of RP, and the psychosocial effects of the pain. Additionally, the endodontic diagnosis of the offending tooth was determined by a member of the endodontic department. The collected …

Evaluation Of Object Attributes To Study Speed-Accuracy Trade-Off Of Gloves Using Iso 9241-411 Standard, Isha Gaut

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Selection of appropriate gloves plays an important role in the overall comfort and productivity of workers. Currently, there are no standards and/or guidelines available to systematically evaluate the glove performance based on speed-accuracy trade-off. The ISO 9241-411 standard which is based on Fitts’ Law has been extensively used in the literature to measure speed-accuracy trade-off in terms of throughput in the virtual environments. This study was aimed at developing guidelines for implementing ISO 9241-411 standard in the physical environment so that it can be used to estimate (and compare) throughputs of safety gloves. Specifically, the various physical attributes of objects …

Exploring The Relationship Between Hardiness And Performance In Collegiate Baseball Players, Kevin R. Lou

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of the individual personality characteristic of hardiness on trait anxiety and objective performance within NCAA Division I collegiate baseball players. An updated version of the PVS III-R was used to measure hardiness after a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted. Of the total 389 players that participated, 171 met inclusion criteria requirements and were split into two groups – hitters (N=94) and pitchers (N=80) – to identify differences in skills and how sub-constructs of hardiness affected performance through a descriptive correlational prospective design. The results show …

International Students’ Adjustment Challenges In The United States: A Case Study Of West Virginia University, Lawrencia Baaba Okai

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

International students face challenges as they endeavor to study abroad ranging from host government policies to the host country’s attitudes vis-à-vis foreign students and immigration. In some instances, they also face obstacles leaving their country of origin. The United States is the largest destination country with 24% of all international students worldwide, followed by the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Germany. In the United States, international students make up about 6% of all college students. They make significant contributions to the United States economy and bring several benefits, particularly to federal and state governments. They contribute to the federal government’s …

Neuromechanical Tuning For Arm Motor Control, Russell Lee Hardesty Jr

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Movement is a fundamental behavior that allows us to interact with the external world. Its importance to human health is most evident when it becomes impaired due to disease or injury. Physical and occupational rehabilitation remains the most common treatment for these types of disorders. Although therapeutic interventions may improve motor function, residual deficits are common for many pathologies, such as stroke. The development of novel therapeutics is dependent upon a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms that govern movement. Movement of the human body adheres to the principles of classic Newtonian mechanics. However, due to the inherent complexity of …