Digital Commons Network^™

Systems Analysis For Sustainability Assessment Of Biogas And Bio-Ch4 Production From Food Waste And Dairy Manure Mixtures In The Us, Sharath Kumar Ankathi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The purpose of the dissertation is to relate systems analysis for bioenergy to identify optimum configurations for improved scenarios and to make better decisions in a systems perspective.

Chapter 1 is a review of the literature to identify the state of the knowledge in terms of systems analysis for anaerobic digestion (AD) bioenergy systems. The key outcomes from this review showed that anaerobic digestion of mixtures of food waste and animal manure has great potential to achieve economic and environmental benefits compared to other treatments of organic waste materials, such as landfilling or conventional manure management.

Chapter 2 focuses on …

Livestock-Wildlife Dynamics And Subsequent Human Responses In Marginalized Communities Within Mexico’S Nationally Protected Areas, Deanna Seil

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Entering the planet’s sixth mass-extinction, monitoring biodiversity and the factors which affect it is of the utmost importance. This study on the interaction of humans and their livestock with wildlife, and the impact of this interaction on wildlife conservation, took place in Santiago Coatepec, located within the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve in Mexico. Wildlife interactions with livestock may depend upon species, season, ecological characteristics of the area, and livestock management practices. Using camera traps, field data, and interview data, I quantified livestock impact on wildlife behavior and community beliefs. Over two years, camera traps at 18 stations recorded 709 wildlife videos …

Mechanisms Of Pathogen Inactivation In Wastewater And Pharmaceutical Applications, Christa L. Meingast

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Infectious diseases are a significant threat to public health. Though society enacts practices to prevent the spread of these dangerous diseases, challenges remain. Therefore, continual advancements in treatment and prevention are required. Wastewater treatment and viral clearance in pharmaceutical applications are two key health measures that prevent the spread of infections.

A low-cost, low-technology biosolids treatment process was developed to improve wastewater treatment by collecting key information on storage temperature, ammonia, volatile solids, moisture content, pH, and pathogen inactivation in biosolids over long-term storage at two wastewater treatment plants located in northern climates of the United States. Inactivation of pathogens …

High-Performance Zero Liquid Discharge (Zld) Treatment Of High-Salinity Brines Using A Multiple-Effect Absorption Distillation Concept, Sunil Pinnu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

State-of-the-art zero liquid discharge (ZLD) technologies are currently bound with either intensive use of high-grade electrical energy such as mechanical vacuum vapor compressors utilized in brine crystallizers or high capital cost with environmental concerns such as evaporation ponds. The present study aims to address these issues by an innovative desiccant-based ZLD system in which a multiple-effect distillation (MED) unit is uniquely embedded at the heart of an absorption-desorption system. Here, the MED and absorption systems are inherently coupled enabling both heat and mass transfer processes between a high-salinity water and a desiccant solution. The proposed technology employs an absorption-based thermally-driven …

Acute Physiological Responses To Arm-Cranking With Blood Flow Restriction, Benjamin Cockfield

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Physiological responses to aerobic blood flow restriction exercise (BFR) are well documented for lower-body exercise but not upper-body exercise. I evaluated cardiorespiratory (heart rate, VO2, RER, ventilation), metabolic (tissue saturation, deoxyhemoglobin concentrations), and perceptual (effort, pain) responses to arm cranking with BFR at varying arterial occlusion pressures (AOP). Ten adults performed 4 intermittent arm cranking protocols (6x2-min, 1-min recovery): 1) low load (LL) – 40%VO2peak and 0% AOP; high load (HL) – 80%VO2peak and 0% AOP; (BFR50) – 40%VO2peak with 50% AOP; (BFR70) – 40%VO2peak with 70% AOP. Heart rate, RER, and ventilation, were higher with BFR compared to LL …

Nanofiber Scaffolds As 3d Culture Platforms, Stephanie Bule

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Cell culture has become the basis for understanding the fundamental mechanisms of cell, tissue and organ function. Although major advancements in uncovering the underlying processes and mechanisms of normal and diseased cell biology have been made by using two-dimensional (2D) cell culture, there is a recent shift in moving towards three-dimensional (3D) culture platforms. The motivation is to better recapitulate the microenvironment of cells in vivo to obtain results that are more indicative to actual cellular processes. In this study, electrospun nano-fibrous scaffolds made of polycaprolactone were used as a 3D culture tool to investigate difference in cell behavior and …

3d Printing Of Iron Oxide Incorporated Polydimethylsiloxane Soft Magnetic Actuator, Rasoul Bayaniahangar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Soft actuators have grown to be a topic of great scientific interest recently. As the fabrication of soft actuators with conventional microfabrication methods are tedious, expensive, and time consuming, employment of 3-D printing fabrication methods appears promising as they can simplify fabrication and reduce the production cost. Complex structures can be fabricated with 3-D printing such as helical coils can achieve actuation performances that otherwise would not be possible with simpler geometries. In this thesis development of soft magnetic helical coil actuators of iron-oxide embedded polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was achieved with embedded 3-D printing techniques. Composites with three different weight ratios …

Detection And Thermal Stabilization Of Virus Based On Surface Properties, Xue Mi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Viral diseases take the lives of millions of people each year. The most effective methods to prevent viral disease outbreak are viral detection to reduce contact with viral pathogens and vaccines to prevent disease. To reduce the costs of the detection of viruses and improve vaccine formulation, we explored viral surface properties. The properties we have focused on are viral hydrophobicity and surface charge using chemical force microscopy (CFM). CFM is a single-particle technique that measures the adhesion force of a functionalized atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe, and in this study, a virus covalently bound to a surface. The non-enveloped …

Ratiometric Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probes For The Sensitive Detection Of Intracellular Ph And Bio-Thiols In Live Cells, Shuai Xia

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In the past twenty years, fluorescence sensing and imaging based on fluorescent probes has been developed as an imperative technique due to the merits including excellent sensitivity, operational simplicity, instant time effectiveness and outstanding selectivity in the research areas such as mineralogy, gemology, biological medicine, materials and environmental engineering. Protons act as a significant role in a variety of pathological and physiological processes, and there are obvious differences in the pH among organelles: the pH in lysosomes is acid within the range of 4.5–5.5, whereas mitochondrial pH is basic that can be as high as 8.0. Abnormal intracellular pH is …

Gis-Based Trending Analysis Of Cropland Associated With Riparian From 2008 To 2018 In Wisconsin, Yanyun Li

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

One of important characteristics of riparian area is to protect surface and underground water from nutrient contaminated runoff from nearby farmland. Comparing with the traditional fixed-width riparian buffer delineation, the Riparian Buffer Delineation Model (RBDM) to be used in this study, is a GIS-based tool designed to map variable-width riparian buffers by taking into consideration the watercourse and its associated floodplain. As the use of biofuels increases especially derived from corn, riparian areas are often converted to agricultural fields due to the nutrient rich soils and flat topography commonly found in these locations. Meanwhile, it also gives rise to nonpoint …

Severe Thunderstorms Create Windfall Of Opportunity For Ecosystem-Based Management Of Mixed Northern Hardwoods, Elizabeth Montgomery Barnes

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The regeneration and reorganization of organisms and their habitat post-disturbance is a primary mechanism by which ecosystems maintain functionality in a changing environment. This adaptation to disturbance lends dynamism and resiliency to landscapes. Yet, the 20^th century was marked by an alarming loss of global biodiversity, pointing to the likelihood that the rate of ecological disturbance generated by human systems today is either too frequent or too intense to be beneficial to ecosystems, and rather poses a risk to ecosystem functionality and the carrying capacity of Earth systems. Compounding these risks is high uncertainty regarding the potential for stronger, …

Study Of Silica Nanoparticle Composite On Silica-Hydrogen Peroxide Complexations And Their Effects In Catechol Based Adhesives, Rattapol Pinnaratip

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Mussel adhesive proteins contain catechol moiety, which allows the protein to crosslinked, solidify, and adhere to surrounding surfaces even under wet conditions. Incorporating the catechol moiety into polymeric adhesive resulted in bioadhesive, which still functions under wet conditions. However, the adhesive must be oxidized in order to crosslink and adhere to surfaces. The oxidation process of catechol adhesive was proven to produce singlet oxygen, superoxide, and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). These reactive oxygen species, with lack of control, can wreak havoc to the biological system causing poor healing and undesired biological response.

Here, we studied the silica …

Continuous Viral Vaccine Manufacturing And Viral Detection Strategies, Dylan G. Turpeinen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Viruses are responsible for many human diseases that lead to suffering and death. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), influenza, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have claimed the lives of millions of people. Two methods have been created to reduce the suffering caused by these diseases. The first is the manufacturing of vaccines that prevent disease and the second is the development of virus detection tests that lead to treatment. The work summarized in this dissertation discusses the development of a continuous virus purification process using an aqueous two-phase system for use in vaccine manufacturing. Additionally, two novel virus detection methods were …

Linking Energy Efficiency And Public Health: A Case Study Of Illinois, Azat Turegeldin

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

A growing body of research has established the connection between emissions from fossil fuels and severe impacts on human health, such as asthma attacks in children and adults and chronic cardiovascular problems. This work evaluates in monetary terms the implementation of two energy-saving scenarios. Illinois, as a state with high coal electricity generating content, has been chosen as a case study to quantify the impacts brought up by air pollution on public health. The potential benefits of improved air quality and health are the considered results of implemented energy efficiency technologies. This report is a culmination of a summer internship …

Biocide Resistance As A Result Of Exposure To Biocides Used In Hydraulic Fracturing, Lindsey Schenten

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Microbial resistance to antimicrobials is an important topic to investigate not only for our health but for the environment. There is a growing concern about expanding microbial resistance to both antibiotics and other antimicrobials such as biocides. We wanted to know how bacteria previously exposed to hydraulic fracturing fluids, including biocides, would react to biocide exposure and what the mechanism of resistance looked like. In order to test this hypothesis bacterial isolates were obtained from water and sediment from a stream that had been previously exposed to a spill of hydraulic fracturing water. Thirty bacterial isolates were obtained from these …

The Human Dimensions And Spatial Ecology Of Poaching And Implications For Red Wolf Survival, Suzanne Agan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In the 1970’s, red wolves were considered America’s most endangered mammalian species and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) developed the Red Wolf Recovery Plan soon after passage of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to preserve and eventually reintroduce them. It marked the first successful attempt to reintroduce a large predator that had been completely extirpated from the wild. The conservation of predators, such as red wolves, stirs controversy when it hinders human activities and some people retaliate by illegal killing. In Northeastern North Carolina (NENC), poaching has been a problem throughout the entire recovery process and is the …

"I Was A Trailblazer": A Phenomenological Study Of The Baseball Playing Experience Of Girls, Aj Richard

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Baseball is a reflection of America (Briley, 1992). The game is immersed in traditions. Many of these traditions are gendered. Baseball is built on myth, and these myths have served the purpose of keeping baseball white, heterosexual, and male. Baseball is also characteristic of enduring inequalities and discrimination. Sixty years after Jackie Robinson integrated Major League Baseball, owners, managers, coaches, CEOs, and fans are still overwhelmingly white and male (Chang, 2017; Lapchick, 2019). Although the participation of girls in baseball can be traced back to the beginnings of the game, they have faced persistent opposition. According to Batts Maddox (2019), …

Portrayal Of Diverse Family Structures In Children's Literature, Beth Grafft

Graduate Research Papers

Throughout their daily lives, students continuously make connections between themselves and their world, which aids in constructing meaning, strengthening understanding, and facilitating empathy toward others. The purpose of this qualitative content analysis is to ascertain the extent to which diverse family dynamics are represented within books nominated by students for consideration of the 2019-2020 Iowa Children’s Choice Award. The research questions addressed in this study include: What is the extent of representation regarding diverse family dynamics within books nominated by students for consideration of the 2019-2020 Iowa Children’s Choice Award book award, and how human families are portrayed. All fifteen …

Identification Of Trends In Scientific Communication By Minority Students In An Integrated And Advanced Ninth Grade Science Curriculum, Loren Thalacker

Graduate Research Papers

In the United States, the population of minorities is rapidly increasing. Our nation is facing a shortage in students pursuing STEM careers and it is vital to improve all students’ scientific communication abilities. As our population of minority students is also growing, it is especially important to tap into our potential STEM resources. While the Midwest is less diverse than the rest of the nation, the Waterloo Community School District in Waterloo, Iowa has a large population of minority students. When the district implemented the Next Generation Science Standards it created a problem for students wanting to take advanced science …

Defending Against Adversarial Attacks In Transmission- And Distribution-Level Pmu Data, Jun Jiang, Xan Liu, Eduardo Cotilla-Sanchez, Robert B. Bass, Xinghui Zhao

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Phasor measurement units (PMUs) provide highfidelity data that improve situation awareness of electric power grid operations. PMU datastreams inform wide-area state estimation, monitor area control error, and facilitate event detection in real time. As PMU data become more available and increasingly reliable, these devices are found in new roles within control systems, such as remedial action schemes and early warning detection systems. As with other cyber physical systems, maintaining data integrity and security pose a significant challenge for power system operators. In this paper, we present a comprehensive analysis of multiple machine learning techniques to detect malicious data injection within …

More Than The Vote: The Nineteenth Amendment As Proxy For Gender Equality, Tracy A. Thomas

Akron Law Faculty Publications

This essay first details the origins of women's political demand for the vote as part of a comprehensive social reform. It then discusses the four strands of the comprehensive early women's rights agenda for gender equality focused on the political state, domestic family, economic industry, and religious church. Finally, it connects the suffrage activism with demands for an equal rights amendment to realize the full civil rights of equality envisioned by and for women. This long view of women's rights shows it was never only about the vote; rather, the vote stood as a shorthand for a complete revolution of …

An Alternative Method Of Biomedical Signal Transmission Through The Gsm Voice Channel, Seyedmohsen Dehghan, Mehmet Kaya

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

In this work, a new solution for online and accurate biomedical data transmission is presented. For this purpose, a global system for mobile (GSM) communication voice channel is, for the first time, used as a communication link between the patient and healthcare provider. Biomedical signals are converted into speech-like signals before being transferred over a GSM voice channel. On the receiver side, speech-like symbols are stored in a symbols bank, and constructed using random stochastic signals. On the receiver end, the index of the symbol with the most similarity to the received signal is selected as the identified sample. This …

Wavelength Sensitivity Of Indium Tin Oxide On Surface Plasmon Resonance Angles, Antonio Ruiz, Carlos Villa Angulo, Ivan Olaf Hernandez-Fuentes

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a charge-density oscillation that occurs when a beam of p-polarized monochromatic light impinges with a greater angle than the critical angle in a dielectric-metal interface. Because of the high losses related to metals, the generated surface plasmon waves propagate with high attenuation in the visible and near-infrared spectral regions in most of the dielectric-metal interfaces. An alternative to reduce such losses is to use a transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) film. In this paper, we compared theoretical calculations and experimental measurements of the SPR angle $\theta_{SPR}$ on the interfaces of a borosilicate prism (Bp) and …

Marine Toxins Targeting Kv1 Channels: Pharmacological Tools And Therapeutic Scaffolds, Rocio K. Finol-Urdaneta, Aleksandra Belovanovic, Milica Micic-Vicovac, Gemma K. Kinsella, Jeffrey R. Mcarthur, Ahmed Al-Sabi

Articles

Toxins from marine animals provide molecular tools for the study of many ion channels, including mammalian voltage-gated potassium channels of the Kv1 family. Selectivity profiling and molecular investigation of these toxins have contributed to the development of novel drug leads with therapeutic potential for the treatment of ion channel-related diseases or channelopathies. Here, we review specific peptide and small-molecule marine toxins modulating Kv1 channels and thus cover recent findings of bioactives found in the venoms of marine Gastropod (cone snails), Cnidarian (sea anemones), and small compounds from cyanobacteria. Furthermore, we discuss pivotal advancements at exploiting the interaction of κM-conotoxin RIIIJ …

Cold Atmospheric Plasma Stimulates Clathrin-Dependent Endocytosis To Repair Oxidised Membrane And Enhance Uptake Of Nanomaterial In Glioblastoma Multiforme Cells, Zhonglei He, Kangze Li, Laurence Scally, Eline Manaloto, Sebnem Gunes, Sing Wei Ng, Marcus Maher, Brijesh Tiwari, Hugh Byrne, Paula Bourke, Furong Tian, Patrick J. Cullen, James Curtin

Articles

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is increasingly studied in a growing number of clinical trials for cancer treat-ment1,2 and research is ongoing to explore the combination of CAP with other therapies, including nanoparticles, radiotherapy and chemotherapy3–5.Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are known to be weakly-toxic to human cells and be readily manufactured and designed for targeting delivery of various therapeutic compounds into cells. Citrate-capped cationic AuNPs may adsorb serum proteins onto their surface and thereby stimulate receptor-mediated endocytosis6. Without special surface functionalisation, AuNPs enter cells and become trapped in vesicles6–8 or enter the nucleus, depending on their size/shape9,10. Meanwhile, AuNPs with functionalised surface …

Effect Of Cereal Cyst Nematode Heterodera Filipjevi On Wheat Yields In Turkey, Mustafa İmren, Şenol Yildiz, Vahdetti̇n Çi̇ftçi̇, Abdelfattah Dababat

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

The cereal cyst nematode Heterodera filipjevi (Madzhidov) Stelter is an important yield-limiting soil-borne pathogen of wheat- and barley-growing areas, particularly in the semiarid regions throughout the world. In Turkey, cyst nematodes have been detected in several localities of wheat- and barley-growing areas. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of initial population densities (Pi) of Heterodera filipjevi on yield of susceptible (Seri-82) and resistant (Silverstar) wheat cultivars and to investigate nematode reproduction on wheat under rainfed conditions in Bolu Province in Turkey. The results indicated that cultivar Seri-82 showed higher sensitivity reaction to H. filipjevi than cultivar Silverstar. Yield …

Comparison Of Extraction Methods Optimised By Rsm For Extraction Of Some Bioactivesfrom Liquorice Samples, Fahri̇ye Şeyma Özcan, Ni̇hat Özcan, Ahmet Abdullah Us, Osman Sağdiç

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

This study compared the extraction efficiency of 3 different techniques, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), microwaveassisted extraction (MAE), and the classical extraction method, in obtaining some bioactive and allergen compounds, namely liquiritin (LQ), glycyrrhizin (GL), glycyrrhetinic acid (GA), and carbenoxolone (CBX), from liquorice samples of Glycyrrhiza glabra grown in Turkey. Extraction parameters for each technique were optimised by the response surface methodology-central composite design approach. Concentrations of LQ, GL, GA, and CBX, which were selected as the responses of selected independent variables, were determined by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry. One-way variance analysis was performed to evaluate the significance of the …

Heritability Estimates And The Variation Of Pomological Traits, Total Phenolic Compounds,And Antioxidant Capacity In Two Apricot Progenies, Firat Ege Karaat, Sedat Serçe

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Even though pomological traits are important in fruit breeding for quality, antioxidant capacity and the total content of phenolic compounds have also gained importance, together with a rising awareness of their health benefits. As a result, this study was conducted to evaluate the variation and heritability levels of antioxidant capacity and total phenolic compounds, as well as pomological traits in 'Hacıhaliloğlu' × 'Stark Early Orange' and 'Çataloğlu' × `Stark Early Orange' apricot crosscombinations based on phenotypic assessments of fruit samples. The results indicated significant differences among F1 progenies in the samples involved in the study. Broad-sense heritability coefficients ranged from …

Changes In Endogenous Auxin Level During Flower Bud Abscission Process In Pistachio(Pistacia Vera L.), Muhammet Ali̇ Gündeşli̇, Sali̇h Kafkas, Murat Güney, Nesi̇be Ebru Kafkas

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

The regulation of auxin (indole-3-acetic acid, IAA) level in plants is a complex mechanism and the concept is not completely understood. There are many lines of evidence suggesting that amino acid conjugates of IAA play a vital role in auxin homeostasis, but the involved plant enzymes are still under investigation. In the present study, the alteration in the levels of auxin and its conjugates in the different physiological stages and organs, as well as its role in flower bud abscission in Pistacia vera L., were investigated. The levels of the auxin and its conjugates, such as IAA, indole butyric acid …

Agronomic Traits Of Einkorn And Emmer Under Different Seeding Rates And Topdressingwith Organic Fertilizers, Ana Pospisil, Milan Pospisil, Marina Brcic

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

The goal of this research carried out at the experimental facility of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Zagreb in 2015/2016, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 was to determine the influence of seeding rate and topdressing with organic fertilizers on yield and yield components in einkorn (Triticum monococcum subsp. monococcum) and emmer (Triticum dicoccon) populations collected in the Croatian region of Slavonia. The research comprised four seeding rates: 100, 150, 200, and 250 grains per m2; topdressing with organic fertilizers (Fertil Supernova 12.5 N and Ilsamin N90); and a control (no topdressing). Einkorn populations achieved a higher yield of hulled …