Digital Commons Network^™

Synthesis, Crystal Engineering, And Material Properties Of Small-Molecule Organic Semiconductors, Emma Holland

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Small-molecule organic materials are of increasing interest for electronic and photonic devices due to their solution processability and tunability, allowing devices to be fabricated at low temperature on flexible substrates and offering utility in specialized applications. This tunability is the result of functionalization through careful synthetic strategy to influence both material properties and solid-state arrangement, both crucial variables in device applications. Functionalization of a core molecule with various substituents allows the fine-tuning of optical and electronic properties, and functionalization with solubilizing groups allows some degree of control over the solid- state order, or crystal packing. These combinations of core chromophores …

Developing Synthetic Strategies For Multifaceted Applications Of Stable Gold-Based Complexes, Randall Tyler Mertens

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Development of stable gold-based complexes has been a rapidly advancing field due to the popularity of gold complexes, particularly for use in biomedical research and catalytic transformations. Given that auranofin, a gold(I) complex with FDA approval for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is used in the clinic, the development of stable gold-based molecules of clinical relevance is urgently needed. Herein are reported, synthetic strategies used for the development of new classes of gold(I) and gold(III) complexes for advancement in mitochondrial modulation for use as chemotherapeutics as well as application to gold catalysis due to the unique geometry of complexes presented …

Computational Insights On Medicinal Chemistry Targeting Cyp450s, Alexander D. Fenton

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Modern-day medicinal chemistry has provided researchers with a wide variety of tools to not only gather greater insight from their data, but also to generate data in new ways. One such tool is the construction of computational protein models from crystallographic datasets, and their subsequent use to understand the structure-activity relationships of protein-ligand complexes. These models can be utilized for their predictive power to inform the synthesis of, and improvement of, lead compounds. It is the goal of this work to employ such models to the CYP450 enzyme system such that potent and selective inhibitors can be designed, evaluated biologically, …

Anorectal Malformation, Associated With Colon Atresia And Intestinal Malrotation, A Case Report, Allyzain Ismail, Lazaro Mboma, Victor Ngotta, Masawa Nyamuryekung'e

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Introduction and importance: In this case report from Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es salaam, Tanzania, we present the unexpected findings of anorectal malformation, colonic atresia, and intestinal malrotation in a 2-day old neonate. This combination is exceedingly rare, with only case reports published in the literature. We describe the challenges in diagnosis and offer our insights based on this experience and review of the literature.

Case presentation: Our patient was a male born at term, weighing 2600 g, diagnosed clinically with a high anorectal malformation. He was planned for colostomy, and we unexpectedly found a collapsed descending colon. Exploration revealed …

Collisional Methods With Applications To Charged Particle Beams, Afnan Al Marzouk

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In this work, we present our development of new collisional numerical methods which are the first methods that can provide an accurate microscopic description of beam dynamics with high computational efficiency. The first method is the Simò integrator which solves the N-body problem of beams by direct integration of the particles' equations of motion in the presence of external electromagnetic fields. Its development included very unique techniques to obtain accuracy while resolving all the efficiency challenges known to N-body integrators. Consequently, the Simò integrator is the first large-scale collisional numerical method in beam physics that is accurate up to machine …

Multimodal Human Group Behavior Analysis, Chongyang Bai

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Human behaviors in a group setting involve a complex mixture of multiple modalities: audio, visual, linguistic, and human interactions. With the rapid progress of AI, automatic prediction and understanding of these behaviors is no longer a dream. In a negotiation, discovering human relationships and identifying the dominant person can be useful for decision making. In security settings, detecting nervous behaviors can help law enforcement agents spot suspicious people. In adversarial settings such as national elections and court defense, identifying persuasive speakers is a critical task. It is beneficial to build accurate machine learning (ML) models to predict such human group …

The Role Of Memory-Based Processing And Coherence Building In Retrieval Interference, Ryan D. Kopatich

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Characters in narratives often behave in ways that are inconsistent with their beliefs, values, and previous actions. What effect do these contradictions have on a reader’s memory of character’s prior beliefs? One model, the Knowledge Revision Components framework (KReC) argues that a passive memory-based process is responsible for reducing access to information that is no longer true (e.g., when a character who is afraid of heights gets help facing her fears, it is harder to recall that she was afraid of heights). This possibility is called the general interference hypothesis. Subsequent research on KReC has shown that this process only …

A Dynamic Active Noise Control System For Live Music Attenuation, Elliot James Krueger

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis proposes a system design that will be suitable for applying active noise control (ANC) effectively to live musical instruments. The design consists of three parts: a signal separation section, an instrument classification section, and the active noise control section. The signal separation section will split up the music signals. The instrument classification section will identify the signals, and the ANC section will attenuate the music signal based on the previous information from the other sections. The two instruments of focus will be the trombone and tuba for their low frequency and ability to be quite loud in a …

Human-Aware Information-Theoretic Control Of Robotic Swarms, Rafal David Krzysiak

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Robotic swarms provide a scalable and robust solution for monitoring large environments. In this context, the inclusion of a human has the potential advantage of incorporating prior knowledge about the target location or dynamics, thus increasing the overall efficiency of the task at hand. This is especially critical when dealing with time-intensive missions such as search and rescue. In this thesis we develop a general information-theoretic framework to control multiple autonomous robots in search and rescue missions that include a human teleoperator. Human prior knowledge is modeled to capture target location and dynamics, and a mutual information based control is …

Understanding Teacher Legal Literacy In Pre-Service Education Programs And How To Improve Teacher Legal Literacy Through Self-Efficacy Professional Development, Peter T. Kupfer

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examined the term legal literacy as it applies to education, the state of legal literacy in educators today, and how that might be improved through lens self-efficacy. This dissertation is organized into four separate papers. Paper 1 is a review of the literature about legal literacy in both the field of education and in the legal field. Having determined in Paper 1 that teachers possess a low legal literacy, Paper 2 examined the role of pre-service teacher programs in exposing teaching candidates to legal topics. Having found in Paper 2 that pre-service undergraduate programs in the US do …

Oh, You're The One That's Keeping Us Open: Senior Student Affairs Officers' Crisis Leadership And Decision Making In Response To Covid-19, Michael R. Lango

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to understand the experience of higher education crisis leaders while facing an unprecedented crisis. COVID-19 thrust senior student affairs professionals, who most often serve as crisis leaders on small college campuses, into the position of decision-maker guiding the campus response to the pandemic. The research explored the crisis leadership experience of SSAOs during the first year of their crisis response. Five themes emerged from the data collected during the research: a) the influence of institutional structure and culture on decisions, b) uniqueness of crisis decision making, c) engagement and utilization of human resources, d) …

An Investigation Into The Legal Literacy Of Educators: A Professional Development Approach, Ariana L. Leonard

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the term legal literacy as it applies to the education field and looks at the legal literacy of educators across the country. The dissertation is organized into three separate papers. Paper 1 is a review of the research literature on the legal literacy of educators in the United States and how educators develop legal literacy, as well as the legal issues and mandates required for educators related to English Learners. Paper 1 ends with a definition of legal literacy as it pertains to the fields of education and law. Paper 2 is an in-depth data analysis of …

Spectral Analysis Of Cyclotron Radiation For Electron Beam Diagnostics, Brendan Leung

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The spectral distribution of the cyclotron radiation emitted by non-ultra-relativistic electrons traveling through solenoidal lenses can be used to characterize ensemble-averaged properties of a beam. In this paper we explore the potential use of cyclotron radiation to measure the energy spread and transverse emittance of a beam while remaining unintrusive. We specifically discuss the relation between the spectral properties of cyclotron radiation and the beam statistical properties and perform first principle particle-in-cell simulation to validate our findings.

Log Analysis And Visualization Of Hpc Application Performance Data, Ryan David Lewis

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

High-performance computing (HPC) resources at facilities such as Argonne National Laboratory's Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) enable a wide array of scientific experiments and research applications. In day-to-day operation, these platforms collect copious amounts of system, performance, and debugging logs, capturing data about how jobs, individual tasks, and the system as a whole, operate and perform. This thesis builds on previous efforts to examine how these logs can be used to better understand user and application behavior and system resource usage, in addition to demonstrating machine-learning-based (ML-based) techniques for characterizing applications and predicting job behavior using log data. Five datasets collected …

Alteration Reactions In A Hornblende-Biotite-Anthophyllite-Fluid System: Implications For Cu-Au Ore Deposits, James Mitchell Lightner

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

High-grade porphyry Cu-Au ore deposits are typically contained in the potassic alteration zone, which forms through the alteration of preexisting country rock by a magmatic volatile phase (MVP) exsolved from an igneous intrusion. The MVP is a H2O dominant phase that contains high concentrations of NaCl, KCl, FeCl2, HCl, sulfur (as H2S or SO2) and minor concentrations of metals. The minerals in the potassic alteration zone are predominantly K-feldspar and biotite with a shreddy texture. Shreddy biotite forms from the replacement of prismatic-tabular shaped hornblende crystals, resulting in a characteristic shreddy texture. The alteration of hornblende to biotite can neutralize …

Margins Of The City: Urban Masculinity And Identity Politics In British Social-Realist Queer Cinema, Yi Li

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation identifies and analyzes a history of queer politics and identities in British realist cinema from the early 1960s to the 2010s. Focusing primarily on filmmakers Sidney J. Furie, Stephen Frears, Hettie MacDonald, and Andrew Haigh, it traces British queer maleness of the working class by tracking its changing representations and demonstrates how urban cinematic realism proves central to British definitions of masculinity. The first chapter investigates how foundational films of the British New Wave address social inequalities as consequences of class and sexuality to consider how they embraced a sexual frankness and realism with coded and decoded homoeroticism. …

Rebuild The Niu Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar Apparatus For High Strain Rate Tensile Test, Dian Li

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

A Split-Hopkinson apparatus is a device used to dynamically test material properties for constructing constitutive model and can be used for high strain rate deformation research and experiments. NIU currently has a Split-Hopkinson apparatus that can conduct compressive tests only. The goal of this thesis is to redesign and rebuild the existing apparatus, so the high strain rate tensile tests can be conducted.

Multi-improvements were applied to the Split Hopkinson apparatus in order to improve its working performance. For conducting high strain rate tensile test, the Split-Hopkinson system has been rebuilt with a load-inversion device. The load-inversion device was designed …

Cumulative Risk, Parenting, And Adolescents’ Problem Behaviors In Ghana, Braima Salaam

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The accumulation of multiple risk factors predisposes adolescents to problem behaviors such as anxiety, depression, and aggression, whereas parental warmth and behavioral control are protective by lowering adolescents’ experiences of these problem behaviors. Research in predominantly Western, industrialized, and rich contexts has shown that in stressful family environments, cumulative co-occurring risks and parenting factors act together to influence adolescents’ problem behaviors. In particular, studies have shown that parental warmth and behavioral control mediate and moderate the effect of cumulative risk to predict adolescents’ problem behaviors. The present study examines the effect of cumulative risk, and mothers’ and fathers’ warmth and …

Developing A Machine Learning Framework For Upwind Surveyed Regions, Witenberg Santiago Rodrigues Souza

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Every year, the Oil & Gas industry loses $2B dollars due to fugitive natural gas leaks. Identifying the source of a leak is a complex challenge, especially in suburban areas where gas leakage may be mixed with other sources. Besides the multitude of possible locations for a leak in an urban area, surveying an entire city may take considerable time and funds depending on the chosen method. This work proposes a framework based on unmanned areal vehicles (UAV) to survey a region for gas leaks. To accomplish this goal, we rely on the concept of a Upwind Survey Region (USR). …

Clinical Applications And Feasibility Of Proton Ct And Proton Radiography, Christina Marie Sarosiek

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Proton therapy is a form of radiation treatment for cancer that utilizes the Bragg peak to create conformal high dose regions around the tumor volume. However, the use of x-ray computed tomography (CT) and x-ray radiography for treatment planning and pre-treatment quality assurance procedures improves the achievable effectiveness of proton treatment plans (using proton CT) and the pretreatment verification (using proton radiography). Errors in the conversion from x-ray Hounsfield units (HU) to proton relative stopping powers (RSP) leads to errors in the predicted proton range. To account for the errors, 3.5% margins are included in the treatment plan. This means …

The Effects Of Mini-Lectures On Students’ Academic Achievement In An Adaptive E-Learning Environment: A Mixed-Methods Case Study, Antonella Scarpiello

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This mixed-methods case study examines the effects of adaptive e-learning approaches focused on the connection between instructional material, structured as mini-lectures learned by following adaptive e-learning pathways, and student academic achievement. Specifically, it analyzes mini-video lectures' effectiveness in helping students understand challenging concepts and improve their overall performance. This study demonstrates that the interactive and student-controlled nature of mini-videos, embedded in an adaptive platform, provides students with personalized learning that places them at the center of their educational experience and significantly improves their classroom performance. The quantitative outcomes reveal that students have positively responded to adaptive e-learning strategies and activities …

Cue Polarization And Representation In Mouse Home-Base Establishment, Ericka Ann Schaeffer

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Many individuals suffer from navigational deficits and subsequent topographical disorientation, yet there is debate over how navigation to a goal is represented within the brain. Early research suggests animals represent their environment in a Cartesian coordinate system which manifests into a cognitive map. Current research suggests animals use a vector-based system which gives rise to a directional response. These studies examined responses to the environment when there was a specific end goal (i.e., hidden platform, food reward, etc.), versus an animal’s internal goal, home-base. The first study used mice to examine the influence of visual and tactile cues on the …

Advising Matters: An Exploration Of Trio Students’ Experiences With Advising, Kari Schimmel

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Academic advising has been identified as a key strategy in helping students to persist and complete their academic goals. This exploratory case study investigated student perceptions of advising, particularly low-income and first-generation students participating in a TRIO Student Support Services program at a midsize midwestern community college. Themes that emerged from interviews and document analysis were categorized by the researcher and found that students identified self-efficacy, proactive advising, relational development, and belonging and support as key practices. Institutional messages were also categorized as confirming or disconfirming. Results indicated effective advising practices that can be implemented into existing advising structures, with …

The Impact Of An Immersive Virtual Reality Learning Environment With Computer-Aided Design And Three-Dimensional Modeling Through Stem Middle-School Education Programming, Danielle Eve Schneider

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Immersive virtual reality as a tool in the middle-school classroom is a promising avenue to aid in cognitively challenging tasks requiring access to visual processes. As these tools become ever present in society, the expectation of school districts to include them into classroom curricula has become challenging, as there is inconsistent data connecting to beneficial learning outcomes. Middle-School STEM classrooms experience an exceptional challenge in the expectation to build strong spatial reasoning skills on rudimentary geometry concepts. It is with that in mind that many 21st-century technology classrooms turn to immersive virtual reality, such as Oculus Rift, as a tool …

Asean's Ineffective Response To The South China Sea Disputes, Rithiya Serey

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Since 1992, five ASEAN member states (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam) have been involved in territorial disputes with China at the South China Sea (SCS). China’s presence in the SCS has prevented the populations of the five ASEAN member states from getting safe and productive access to the lucrative natural resources and trade routes to the outside regions. Even though the SCS disputes have caused economic and security problems for at least half of ASEAN member states, it is puzzling that ASEAN has been suboptimal and ineffective in responding to the disputes. To answer this puzzle, I argue …

Diversity And Taxonomy Of Malagasy Pygmy Hippopotamuses, Allison Shackelton

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Madagascar has many species of extinct megafauna, including up to three species of extinct hippopotamus. Subfossil hippo specimens have been found at sites across Madagascar, yet the number of species and taxonomic relationships of the extinct Malagasy pygmy hippopotamus are poorly understood. This thesis will analyze cranial and postcranial bones to improve our understanding of the diversity and taxonomy of Malagasy subfossil hippos, focusing on adults from Ampasambazimba and Tsaramody and juveniles from Ampasambazimba and Anjohibe. Measurements of the tibia and femur of adult specimens, which are used as diagnostic features in other studies, may not be accurate diagnostic features, …

Beam Phase Space Diagnostic Techniques Along The Fermilab Muon Campus Extraction Line, Benjamin Simons

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The pursuit of physics beyond the Standard Model relies on the ability to make highly sensitive measurements with a high level of precision. Particle accelerators have been a cornerstone for the foundation of tools that have allowed us to continue to probe the limits of what the Standard Model can predict.

This thesis is focused on applying various measurement techniques, some standard and one not so standard, that provide crucial information about beam optics and beam quality for the purposes of monitoring the beam as it is guided throughout a beam transport system. After the measuring techniques have been described, …

Grief Experiences Of Counselors: A Photovoice Exploration And Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Paige S. Spangler

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

There is a lack of research on practicing counselors and how personal and painful experiences, such as grief, influence their identity. Grief can impact counselors’ wellness and result in emotional impairment. CACREP standards do not require training in grief counseling. Thus, there are vacancies in understanding the influence of grief and a lack of preparation in navigation and dialogue of grief in counselor education programs. This qualitative study explored the phenomenological experiences of how grief influences counselor identity. The methodology used in this study was photovoice with interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Photovoice allowed participants to describe their experiences through their …

Investigation Of A Possible Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary Layer In The Hell Creek Formation Near Ekalaka, Montana, U.S.A., Joshua Marvin Schwartz

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The Hell Creek Formation is known for its abundant vertebrate fossils from the end of the Cretaceous. Its internal stratigraphy is poorly defined and it is therefore difficult to determine the precise stratigraphic location of a paleontological feature. This challenge could be overcome if a consistently appearing easily recognizable time horizon, such as the Chicxulub impact debris, or a well defined formational contact could be identified over a wide area of the Hell Creek Formation exposure, but these have been difficult to establish in some localities. The Carthage Institute of Paleontology (CIP) has collected Hell Creek specimens near Ekalaka, Montana …

Goal Programming Approach For Bi-Objective Optimization For A Single Batch Processing Machine, Dheeban Kumar Srinivasan Sampathi

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This research considers a real-time problem where jobs need to be batched and scheduled to a single batch processing machine to minimize makespan and maximum tardiness. Jobs must be placed in batches such that the machine capacity is not violated. The jobs considered have unequal ready times, unequal processing times, and unequal sizes. This research aims to develop an effective solution approach for the proposed problem. The problem under study can be denoted as 1|p-batch, sj, rj| Cmax, Tmax.

The problem under study is NP-Hard. A new Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) formulation using Goal programming (MILP-G) and Column Generation …