Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Calendering On The Electronic Conductivity Heterogenity Of Lithium-Ion Electrode Films, Emilee Elizabeth Hunter

Theses and Dissertations

Advancements in Li-ion batteries are needed especially for the development of electric vehicles and stationary energy storage. Prior research has shown mesoscale variations in electrode electronic conductive properties, which can cause capacity loss and uneven electrochemical behavior of Li-ion batteries. A micro-four-line probe (μ4LP) was used to measure electronic conductivity and contact resistance over mm-length scales in that prior work. This work describes improvements to overcome the challenge of unreliable surface contact between theμ4LP and the sample. Ultimately a second generation flexible probe called the micro-radial-surface probe (μ4LP) was designed and produced. The test fixture was also optimized to obtain …

Role Of The Acid Sensing Ion Channel 1a In The Systemic Circulation, Selina M. Garcia

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Acid-sensing ion channel 1a (ASIC1a) is a non-selective cation channel that is expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells. However, little is known about the contribution of ASIC1a to vascular reactivity and cardiovascular homeostasis. We have previously shown that ASIC1a contributes to pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) Ca²⁺ entry and vasoconstriction as well as chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension. However, a role of ASIC1a in the systemic circulation is unclear. Previous reports have shown that ASIC1a is expressed in femoral and cerebral arteries, however, these studies suggest that ASIC1a contributes to vascular reactivity through neuronal regulation rather than vascular. Therefore, …

A Qualitative Study Of The Social Emotional Needs Of Newly Arrived Immigrant Secondary Students In One Texas High School, Janie Snyder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Immigration has been part of American history, through time increasing the diversity in population. The U.S. Department of Education reported that newly arrived immigrant students are welcomed to classrooms in public schools, and recent data revealed that more than 840,000 immigrant students occupy American classrooms. Immigrant students may demonstrate high aspirations and hope for a good public education however, some experiences bring about isolation, anxiety, and oppression, demonstrating a critical need for a caring and equitable environment. This qualitative case study utilized interviews with newcomer students to determine the social-emotional impact of the lived experiences of newly arrived immigrant students …

Numerical Evaluation Of Effective Thermal Response Of Heterogeneous Materials, Kevin W. Irick

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Heterogeneity in materials leads to increased complication of physics, at the level or scale where heterogeneity exists, making analysis and material behavior predictions more difficult. As a result of the intricate descriptions or understanding of the physics required to determine the behavior of a heterogenous material or system, practitioners frequently prefer the use of effective properties or responses. This body of work is dedicated to performing computational analyses on the thermal behavior of heterogeneous materials and evaluating the corresponding analyses using formal verification approaches. Custom finite element method code was used for solving the heat equation in a variety of …

Otter Tail Corporation, Heather Strese

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

In my valuation model I gathered Otter Tail Corporation’s financial statements, historical and industry data, public information and ratio analysis from Mergent Online, Yahoo Finance and Otter Tail Corporation’s 2018 annual report. I discount the expected free cash flows at the WACC and estimate that Otter Tail Corporation’s stock is price is at USD 56.36 per share as of November 1^st, 2019, given the small difference between my estimated price per share and the current price per share in the market, and consistent with the EV/EBITDA multiple, I recommend a HOLD on the stock of the company.

More Than Just Video Games: Analyzing Japanese Game Design 1985 - 1995, Gerald Demattia

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This thesis is an exploration of how the Japanese experience in the second half of the 20^th century shaped video game design in Japan from 1985-1995 – particularly the formation of the Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) genre. To understand the connection between the Japanese experience and JRPGs, research for this thesis was conducted around specific game developers and their creations, namely: Yuji Horii and Dragon Quest; Shigesato Itoi and Mother 1 & 2; and Tajiri Satoshi and the Pokémon games. The crux of this paper centers on primary source interviews with developers where social commentary was cited …

Optimisasi Viskositas Cream Cheese Dengan Penambahan Kulit Ari Psyllium (Plantago Ovata) Dan Susu Full Cream, Muhammad Fadhlillah, Agus Safari, Saadah Diana Rachman, Frida F. Isisafitri, Safri Ishmayana

Chimica et Natura Acta

Cream cheese merupakan keju yang lunak yang biasanya diproduksi melalui proses koagulasi dengan penambahan kultur starter bakteri asam laktat (BAL) yang dapat menyebabkan terjadinya kondisi asam.  Sifat unik kulit ari psyllium menjadi perhatian dalam menghasilkan produk pangan fungsional. Tujuan penelitian ini yaitu menentukan kondisi optimum penambahan kulit ari psyllium dan susu full cream dalam pembuatan cream cheese dengan Response Surface Method (RSM) menggunakan desain Central Composite Design (CCD) untuk menghasilkan dengan respon viskositas. Metode yang digunakan yaitu pembuatan cream cheese dengan penambahan starter Lactobacillus bulgaricus, kulit ari psyllium dan susu full cream sesuai rancangan RSM-CCD dan viskositas dari produk yang …

Pembuatan Material Komposit Penjernih Air Dari Campuran Perlit Dan Cangkang Pensi, Rahmiana Zein, Risa Oktaviani, Megita Febiola, Nurul Annisyah, Matlal Fajri Alif, Zilfa Zilfa

Chimica et Natura Acta

Material penjernih air dari komposit campuran perlit dan cangkang pensi telah diuji pada perbaikan kualitas air sungai Batang Muaro Kasang, Padang, Sumatera Barat. Parameter air yang dianalisis pada penelitian ini diantaranya fosfat, nitrat, nitrit, BOD, COD, TSS, dan warna. Percobaan dilakukan dengan metoda batch untuk menguji pengaruh perbandingan massa campuran perlit dan cangkang pensi, volume air dan waktu kontak. Hasil analisis menunjukan perbandingan massa komposit (campuran perlit dan cangkang pensi) yang optimum untuk penuru kadar fosfat, nitrat, dan warna yaitu (20:10) g pada volume air sungai 50 mL dan waktu kontak 60 menit dengan persen penuru kadar fosfat (66, 92%), …

Finding All ∈-Good Arms In Stochastic Bandits, Blake Mason, Lalit Jain, Ardhendu S. Tripathy, Robert Nowak

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The pure-exploration problem in stochastic multi-armed bandits aims to find one or more arms with the largest (or near largest) means. Examples include finding an ∈-good arm, best-arm identification, top-k arm identification, and finding all arms with means above a specified threshold. However, the problem of finding all ∈-good arms has been overlooked in past work, although arguably this may be the most natural objective in many applications. For example, a virologist may conduct preliminary laboratory experiments on a large candidate set of treatments and move all ∈-good treatments into more expensive clinical trials. Since the ultimate clinical efficacy is …

A Survey On Subsurface Signal Propagation, Usman Raza, Abdul Salam

Computer Information Technology Faculty Publications

Wireless Underground Communication (WUC) is an emerging field that is being developed continuously. It provides secure mechanism of deploying nodes underground which shields them from any outside temperament or harsh weather conditions. This paper works towards introducing WUC and give a detail overview of WUC. It discusses system architecture of WUC along with the anatomy of the underground sensor motes deployed in WUC systems. It also compares Over-the-Air and Underground and highlights the major differences between the both type of channels. Since, UG communication is an evolving field, this paper also presents the evolution of the field along with the …

Preterm Premature Rupture Of Membranes And The Value Of Serum Ferritin During Pregnancy, Maha Al Bayati, Baidaa Mohammed

Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal

BACKGROUND: Preterm premature rupture of membranes occurring from 24-37 weeks gestation. Ferritin is an acute phase reactant as it increases during inflammation that inflammation can predispose to preterm premature rupture of membranes during pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of serum ferritin as a marker for preterm premature rupture of membrane. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study includes 150 pregnant women attending the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology with a gestational age ranging from 28+0 – 36+6 weeks. 50 of them presented with Preterm premature rupture of membrane (group A), 50 women were presented with spontaneous preterm labor (group B), and …

Library Usage By Faculty Members Of Benguet State University, Noel W. Cabfilan, Marjorie C. Ricardo

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study's objectives were to determine Benguet State University faculty members' general impression of the library resources and their usage of these resources. To answer these objectives, questions on faculty members' satisfaction with the library resources, frequency of usage, purposes of using the library resources, reasons for not using the library resources, reasons of not being able to find the resources they are looking for in the library and suggestions for library development in terms of library resources were asked.

It was found out that the majority of the faculty members have used the library resources at least once-a-term. On …

Carbon Fixation Trends In Eleven Of The World’S Largest Lakes: 2003–2018, Michael Sayers, Karl Bosse, Gary L. Fahnenstiel, Robert Shuchman

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Large freshwater lakes provide immense value to the surrounding populations, yet there is limited understanding of how these lakes will respond to climate change and other factors. This study uses satellite remote sensing to estimate annual, lake-wide primary production in 11 of the world’s largest lakes from 2003–2018. These lakes include the five Laurentian Great Lakes, the three African Great Lakes, Lake Baikal, and Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes. Mean annual production in these lakes ranged from under 200 mgC/m²/day to over 1100 mgC/m²/day, and the lakes were placed into one of three distinct groups …

Assessing Perceptions Of Group Work Using Team-Based Learning, Lauren Ferry, Phillip J. Wong, Kathryn Hogan

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Group work is frequently incorporated into courses; however, student perceptions of their experiences and the benefits of group work might differ based on the structure of course. In this study, we examined student perceptions of group work in a team-based learning (TBL) course. Undergraduate students completed pre- and post-surveys on their team work experiences over a semester. Students had lower agreement with the statement “working in groups usually ends up with one person doing all of the work” and higher agreement with “working in a group makes me feel as though I am part of a learning community” at post-test. …

Contextual Suggestions Based On Driving Stage And Context, Sriram Natarajan, Dharminder Singh

Defensive Publications Series

A framework for providing suggestions based on drive context is described. Described techniques can be implemented in virtual assistant or other software accessed via a device directly installed in a vehicle or available via a user mobile device paired with a vehicle infotainment system. With user permission, a drive context and a drive stage (e.g., pre-drive, active drive, end of drive) is determined based on one or more user-permitted factors, and is utilized along with other permitted contextual information to generate a ranked list of suggestions for activities such as media playback, communication actions (calls, messages, etc.), etc. and of …

Better News About Math: A Research Agenda, Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein, John Voiklis, Laura Santhanam, Nsikan Akpan, Shivani Ishwar, Bennett Attaway, Patti Parson, John Fraser

Numeracy

Numeracy is not a luxury: numbers constantly factor into our daily lives. Yet adults in the United States have lower numeracy than adults in most other developed nations. While formal statistical training is effective, few adults receive it – and schools are a major contributor to the inequity we see among U.S. adults. That leaves news well-poised as a source of informal learning, given that news is a domain where adults regularly encounter quantitative content. Our transdisciplinary team of journalists and social scientists propose a research agenda for thinking about math and the news. We engage here in a dialogue …

Fall 2020, Unh Fulbright Scholars 1981-2020, Unh Global Education Center

UNH International Educator Newsletter

No abstract provided.

December 11, 2020: Letter From The President- Covid Update, Kettering University

Communication Updates

No abstract provided.

An Occupational Perspective: Supporting The Paternal Role And Transition Home From The Nicu, Bryana Salazar, Susan Macdermott, Becki Cohill, Karen Park

Fall 2020 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify occupational therapy’s role in supporting paternal wellness and mental health through routines and occupations, following the transition from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) back home.

Study Design: Online surveys (n=32) and virtual interviews (n=11) were collected in order to complete a mixed-method design study. Interviews were manually transcribed and coded onto Dedoose. Thematic analysis was conducted in order to derive overall themes.

Results: This study delved into the experience of fathers’ post NICU discharge. Five overall themes were identified in this study Adjusting Expectations of the initial transition, …

New Mexico In Depth Interviews Vinay Harpalani: Complexity Of Colorism, Vinay Harpalani, Claudia Silva

Faculty Scholarship

“Our discourse on race in this country has largely been framed around black or white,” said University of New Mexico civil rights law professor Vinay Harpalani.

But assumptions about varying shades of skin color can, for example, lead someone who is Indian, like himself, to be mistaken as Hispanic, he said.

Academics who’ve studied racial discrimination say discrimination based on a person’s skin-tone exists across many racial and ethnic groups and generally manifests as a systematic preference for lighter skin over darker skin.

Harpalani explains it can be the other way around in some instances, such as the bullying Clark …

Development Of A Disaster Preparation Toolkit To Improve Community Resilience, Tiffany Wong

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Problem: Natural and man-made disasters happen in all communities and negatively impact the health and safety of populations. Vulnerable populations, such as older adults with comorbidities and disabilities or those aging in place, face greater challenges and have specific needs when faced with disasters. The physical, psychosocial, and cultural characteristics of older adults place them at greater risk during disasters. Emergency preparedness is necessary to build and improve community resilience, as well as to ensure older adults aging in place have the necessary supplies and support to respond to a disaster. Without a proper action plan, recovery efforts during disaster …

Prevalence Of Snake Fungal Disease Caused By Ophidiomyces Ophiodiicola In East Texas, Alan Lizarraga

Biology Theses

Fungal pathogens and resultant disease are credited with the decline of many species across all branches of the tree of life. Fungal diseases such as Snake Fungal Disease (SFD), primarily caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola (Oo), have been strongly associated with the cause of the decrease/disappearance of many snake populations in North America. To date SFD in the wild has been described as far southwest as central Louisiana. Due to similar conditions and the proximity of East Texas to central Louisiana, a survey of local snake populations provided crucial information about the spread and presence of this emerging pathogen. …

School Of Culinary Arts & Food Technology - Winter Newsletter 2020, James Murphy

Other resources

The School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology, TU Dublin, Winter Newsletter captured the many events, research, awards, significant contributions and special civic, community and sustainability activities which the students and staff members of the school have successfully completed up to the Winter period of 2020. The successful completion of these activities would not be possible without the active and on-going support of the 'INSPIRED' friends of Culinary Arts (school supporters) and our school's industry association supporters.

Board Of Trustees Meeting Minutes 2020-12-11, Bowling Green State University

Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

The official meeting minutes of Bowling Green State University's Board of Trustees.

Trypanosoma Cruzi Modulates Piwi-Interacting Rna Expression In Primary Human Cardiac Myocytes During The Early Phase Of Infection, Kayla J. Rayford, Ayorinde Cooley, Ashutosh Arun, Girish Rachakonda, Yulia Kleschenko, Fernando Villalta, Siddharth Pratap, Maria F. Lima, Pius N. Nde

Publications and Research

Trypanosoma cruzi dysregulates the gene expression profile of primary human cardiomyocytes (PHCM) during the early phase of infection through a mechanism which remains to be elucidated. The role that small non-coding RNAs (sncRNA) including PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) play in regulating gene expression during the early phase of infection is unknown. To understand how T. cruzi dysregulate gene expression in the heart, we challenged PHCM with T. cruzi trypomastigotes and analyzed sncRNA, especially piRNA, by RNA-sequencing. The parasite induced significant differential expression of host piRNAs, which can target and regulate the genes which are important during the early infection phase. An …

Improving Entrepreneurial Competencies In The Classroom: An Extension And In-Study Replication, Caroline E.W. Glackin, Steven E. Phelan

College of Business and Economics

Purpose: A recent paper by Morris et al. (2013b) presented evidence that students can develop entrepreneurial competencies through international fieldwork. This paper explores whether the same results can be developed in a traditional classroom setting. Design/methodology/approach: The study is a systematic replication of the Morris study with the addition of a matched pair, quasi-experimental design, with a self-replication. Data were collected on 13 self-reported competencies at the start of a semester from two groups using the Morris instrument. The treatment group was exposed to a curriculum designed to teach entrepreneurial competencies, and both groups were re-surveyed at the end of …

2020 Fall Commencement Schedule: Winona State University, Winona State University

WSU Commencement Programs

This is the Winona State University (WSU) Fall 2020 commencement schedule blog entry. The virtual celebration was on Friday, December 11, 2020. This was a commencement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The virtual celebration included WSU President Scott Olson and our student speaker Tamra Schneider, a performance by the WSU choir and band, and a special commemorative video made for and by the Winona State Class of 2020.

The 2020 Fall Commencement Announcement and the list of graduates is available as a supplemental document to this record.

Yy1 Directly Interacts With Myocardin To Repress The Triad Myocardin/Srf/Carg Box-Mediated Smooth Muscle Gene Transcription During Smooth Muscle Phenotypic Modulation, Jian-Pu Zheng, Xiangqin He, Fang Liu, Shuping Yin, Shichao Wu, Maozhou Yang, Jiawei Zhao, Xiaohua Dai, Hong Jiang, Luyi Yu, Qin Yin, Donghong Ju, Claire Li, Leonard Lipovich, Youming Xie, Kezhong Zhang, Hui J. Li, Jiliang Zhou, Li Li

Orthopedics Articles

Yin Yang 1 (YY1) regulates gene transcription in a variety of biological processes. In this study, we aim to determine the role of YY1 in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotypic modulation both in vivo and in vitro. Here we show that vascular injury in rodent carotid arteries induces YY1 expression along with reduced expression of smooth muscle differentiation markers in the carotids. Consistent with this finding, YY1 expression is induced in differentiated VSMCs in response to serum stimulation. To determine the underlying molecular mechanisms, we found that YY1 suppresses the transcription of CArG box-dependent SMC-specific genes including SM22α, SMα-actin …

Financial Literacy For Latino Immigrants: A Guidebook For Esl Teachers, Anna Braden

Master's Projects and Capstones

Latino immigrants face many financial challenges in the United States. Language barriers exclude them from jobs as well as financial and consumer markets. Lack of familiarity with the U.S. financial system or bad experiences with financial systems in their home countries can create mistrust and lead to Latino immigrants being unbanked or underbanked. Consumer vulnerabilities may also be exploited as immigrants turn to nonbank financial services such as predatory lenders (check cashers, payday lenders, etc.). Lack of access to jobs and marketplaces results in lower income and less wealth accumulation. Over time this results in wealth inequality between Latino immigrants …

That’S Fall She Wrote: Decreasing The Patient Fall Rate On A Medical-Surgical Unit Through An Enhanced Fall Algorithm In The Electronic Medical Record, Lauren A. Fast

Master's Projects and Capstones

All falls, regardless of harm, increase the length of stay for the patient in the hospital (Dunne et al., 2014), and are thus a focus for the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) in improving patient outcomes at the microsystem level. This paper will focus on the use of an enhanced fall algorithm (Moskowitz et al., 2020) that combines the use of nursing assessment, medications, laboratory results, and service to assess risk of the patient for falls. This algorithm will be integrated into the electronic medical record (EMR) to aid in clinical decision making and communication between staff and the disciplines. The …