Digital Commons Network^™

The Relationship Between Grit, Perceived Social Support, And Educational Gains In The Adult Basic Education Classroom, Jennifer D. Shearon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adult Basic Education (ABE) is a critical part of the educational landscape in the United States; its aim is to improve the basic reading, writing, and numeracy skills of the very diverse population of adults in America who lack proficiency in these skills, and more often than not, a high school graduation credential (U.S. Department of Education, 2021a). Each program year, federal funding for ABE state administrated programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA, 2014) is tied to percentages of participants who make measurable skills gains (MSGs). One type of MSG is Educational Functioning Level (EFL) gains, which …

Thermal Inactivation Kinetics Of Salmonella In Milk Powder As Impacted By Water Activity And Powder Type, Erika Litta Kadas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Historically, low-water activity (aw) foods (aw <0.65) were considered to be microbiologically safe for consumption. However, these foods have been implicated in outbreaks of pathogens such as Salmonella enterica, at a frequency that surely challenges this assumption of safety. Although usually implicated in outbreaks involving poultry and egg products, Salmonella spp. have frequently been the culprit in several outbreaks and recalls associated with low-water activity foods (LWAF) due to contamination resulting from the environment, animals, or even the employees during pre-or post-processing. One such LWAF that has been associated with Salmonella spp. outbreaks is milk powder. Milk powders are used in a variety of products ranging from infant formula to confectionary goods. With their widespread use, improving their safety is imperative. A key step in improving their safety is to thoroughly investigate preventive controls related to milk powder processing. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) established the Preventive Controls for Human Foods Rule, which mandates that processors design and establish a food safety plan outlining any potential hazards and the steps they will take to ensure those hazards do not compromise the safety of the product. Presently, the dairy industry does not have an established kill-step for milk powders post-spray drying. Spray drying may reduce some microbial populations, however, desiccation(e.g., spray drying) is not considered a kill-step. The work outlined in this thesis aims to assist our dairy industry partners in establishing their own thermal process for milk powders post-spray drying. Moisture sorption isotherms of two milk powders (nonfat dry milk: NFDM and a milk protein concentrate with 85% protein content: MPC-85) were determined and showcased that the temperatures at which the isotherms were determined (23, 40, or 60°C) significantly affected both the adsorption and desorption isotherms (p<0.0001) for each powder. Secondly, the thermal inactivation kinetics of Salmonella spp. in both powders were evaluated at two different water activities (0.20 and 0.30) and three temperatures (75, 80, and 85°C) to determine the effect of water activity on the thermal resistance of a cocktail of Salmonella spp. The D-values of Salmonella were heavily influenced by the thermal treatment temperature (p< 0.0001), but not the water activity (p >0.05). The overall findings contained within this thesis provide valuable information about the thermal inactivation kinetics of Salmonella spp. to our partners in the dairy industry so that they may implement an appropriate thermal process for their milk powders.

Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations To Decipher Mechanistic Details Of Biomolecular Processes Of Biology And Biotechnology Oriented Applications, Adithya Polasa

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researchers in chemistry and biology often utilize computer simulations, in conjunction with experimental data, to model and predict the structures, energies, kinetics, processes, and functions of the systems that are their focus of study, ranging from single molecules to whole viruses. Here, we use molecular dynamics (MD) techniques to gain a deeper understanding of biomolecular processes in biology and biotechnology-oriented applications. Using a mixture of equilibrium and non-equilibrium MD simulations, this work describes the insertion process of YidC at the atomic level. In order to better comprehend the insertion process, several docking models of YidC-Pf3 in the lipid bilayer were …

Ilang Mahalagang Talâ Tungkol Sa Idinaos Na Advanced Filipino Abroad Program 2011 Sa Pamantasang Ateneo De Manila, Michael M. Coroza

Katipunan

Nilalagom sa maikling pagtalakay na ito ang ilang mahalagang talâ tungkol sa pagdaraos ng ikadalawampu at pinakahuling edisyon ng Advanced Filipino Abroad Program (AFAP) noong 2011 sa Pamantasang Ateneo de Manila. Sa pagbabalik-tanaw (o paggunita) at sa pagtunghay sa naging disenyo, aktuwal na pagdaraos ng mga aktibidad, at sa pangkalahatang ebalwasyon ng ginanap na programa na tumagal nang mahigit walong linggo, makapagbabahagi ng ilang kapaki-pakinabang na pananaw at mga pamamaraang maaaring makita bilang huwaran para sa higit na makatwiran at dinamikong pagsusulong ng Filipino bilang wika at disiplina sa antas na pandaigdigan. Sa wakas, masasabing kahina-hinayang kung bakit hindi na …

Satellite Data And Imagery As Evidence, Ronald J. Rychlak, Sean Patrick Taylor

Journal of Space Law

No abstract provided.

The Nebraska 4-H Equine Advancement Level Program’S Role In Positive Youth Development Using The Five Cs Model: An Exploratory Study, Eunhye Mccarthy

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Positive youth development (PYD) focuses on developing the strengths of youth through positive activities and behaviors rather than reducing negative tendencies. A well-researched model of PYD is the five C’s model that is popularly used in youth development organizations such as 4-H. The Nebraska 4-H Equine Advancement Level program was intended to serve as a guidebook for instruction and assessment of youth as they learn more about horses and horsemanship skills. Each of the four levels has an emphasis in developing a 4-H member’s responsibility, self-discipline, self-reliance, patience, and pride of accomplishments. The program was started approximately 30 years ago …

Chicago Alliance For Equity In Computer Science, Steven Mcgee, Lucia Dettori, Ronald I. Greenberg, Andrew M. Rasmussen, Dale F. Reed, Don Yanek

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Each year, about 14,000 Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students graduate with one year of high school computer science (CS) in fulfillment of the district’s CS graduation requirement. This accomplishment was the culmination of a decade of work by the Chicago Alliance for Equity in Computer Science (CAFÉCS), which includes CPS teachers and administrators, university CS faculty, and educational researchers. CAFÉCS research indicates that CPS significantly increased the capacity of schools to offer the Exploring Computer Science (ECS) introductory course, resulting in a rapid, equitable increase in students’ participation in CS. Making CS mandatory did not negatively impact performance in ECS. …

Towards The Electronic Response Of Carbon-Based Van Der Waals Heterostructures In A Diamond Anvil Cell, George Thomas Foskaris

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The nanoscale regime of materials has been at the forefront of research and interest in condensed matter physics for many years. In a merger of the fields of two-dimensional (2D) materials and high pressure physics, we present an investigation of the electronic response of carbon-based, van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures in a diamond anvil cell (DAC). Combining these fields presents us with the ability to study the characteristics of such systems both optically, and through electrical transport. Properties such as conductance, band structure, and layer number are considered. The samples in this study are assembled using exfoliation and stacking techniques …

Braiding Properties Of Worldline Configurations In Hardcore Lattice Bosons, Fabio Lingua, Wei Wang, Liana Shpani, Barbara Capogrosso-Sansone

Physics

In this manuscript, we study braiding properties of worldline configurations for a variety of ground-states of hardcore Bose–Hubbard models in two dimensions. Configurations are collections of particle paths and result from the path-integral formulation of statistical mechanics. For hard-core bosons, configurations can be seen as geometric braids and therefore can be assigned a certain topological structure, i.e. a way to classify braiding events among worldlines. By means of Monte Carlo calculations, we study superfluid phase and a variety of insulating phases and observe that ground-states of different quantum phases correspond to different probability distributions of braiding properties.

An Author Correction …

Biomolecular Effects Of Dance And Dance/Movement Therapy: A Review, Ivana Lopez-Nieves, Charles E. Jakobsche

Chemistry

The positive health impacts of dance and dance/movement therapy can be seen all the way down to the molecular level. This narrative-style review illustrates this connection by presenting a collection of clinical and preclinical studies that evaluate the effects of dance activities on hormones and other small-molecule metabolites within the human body. The results of these studies show that dance activities can increase levels of nitric oxide, serotonin, estrogen hormones, and HDL cholesterol, while they can decrease levels of dopamine, serum glucose, serum triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol. Levels of cortisol can either be increased or decreased, depending on the type …

Inventory Reveals Wide Biodiversity Of Edible Insects In The Eastern Democratic Republic Of Congo, Jackson Ishara, Rodrigue Ayagirwe, Katcho Karume, Gustave N. Mushagalusa, David Bugeme, Saliou Niassy, Patchimaporn Udomkun, John Kinyuru

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

In response to growing food demand, edible insects are perceived as an opportunity to alleviate food insecurity. With its wide edible insects’ biodiversity, the Democratic Republic of Congo is one of Africa’s most critical entomophagous. This study aimed at giving a first insight on inventory showing diversity, perception, consumption, availability, host plants, harvesting techniques and processing techniques of edible insects in South-Kivu, DRC. It recorded twenty-three edible insects belonging to nine families and five orders, some of which are consumed in the larval, adult, egg and pupa stages. Rhyncophorus phoenicis, Alphitobius diaperinus, Macrotermes subhyalinus and Acheta domesticus were the most …

Potential Distribution Of Fall Armyworm In Africa And Beyond, Considering Climate Change And Irrigation Patterns, Bipana Paudel Timilsena, Saliou Niassy, Emily Kimathi, Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman, Irmgard Seidl-Adams, Mark Wamalwa, Henri E.Z. Tonnang, Sunday Ekesi, David P. Hughes, Edwin G. Rajotte, Sevgan Subramanian

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (FAW), first invaded Africa in 2016 and has since become established in many areas across the continent where it poses a serious threat to food and nutrition security. We re-parameterized the existing CLIMEX model to assess the FAW global invasion threat, emphasizing the risk of transient and permanent population establishment in Africa under current and projected future climates, considering irrigation patterns. FAW can establish itself in almost all countries in eastern and central Africa and a large part of western Africa under the current climate. Climatic barriers, such as heat and dry stresses, may limit …

The Case For Integrated Pest Management In Africa: Transition From A Pesticide-Based Approach, Ramasamy Srinivasan, Manuele Tamò, Sevgan Subramanian

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Pest management in major cropping systems has long been dominated by chemical pesticides in Africa. Smallholder farmers have perceived pesticides as insurance to protect their crops. Consumers are less aware of pesticide-related food-safety issues, and markets providing economic incentives to producers who adopt alternatives to pesticides have been slow to emerge. Hence, overuse of pesticides has been constantly increasing. Although African countries have a number of pesticide-related policies, they are inadequately implemented. However, significant investment has been made on integrated pest management (IPM) innovations in recent decades. Resistant cultivars, agroecological approaches, biological control, and biopesticides have been developed against key …

Elucidation Of Active Site And Mechanism Of Metal Catalysts Supported In Nu-1000, Hafeera Shabbir

All Dissertations

Advances in extraction of shale oil and gas has increased the production of geographically stranded natural gas (primarily consisting of methane (C1) and ethane (C2)) that is burned on site. A potential utilization strategy for shale gas is to convert it into fuel range hydrocarbons by catalytic dehydrogenation followed by oligomerization by direct efficient catalysts. This work focuses on understanding metal cation catalysts supported on metal-organic framework (MOF) NU-1000 that will actively and selectively do this transformation under mild reaction conditions, while remaining stable to deactivation (via metal agglomeration or sintering). I built computational models validated by experimental methods to …

Multiple Heat Exchanger Cooling System For Automotive Applications – Design, Mathematical Modeling, And Experimental Observations, Zaker Syed

All Dissertations

The design of the automotive cooling systems has slowly evolved from engine-driven mechanical to computer-controlled electro-mechanical components. With the addition of computer-controlled variable speed actuators, cooling system architectures have been updated to maximize performance and efficiency. By switching from one large radiator to multiple smaller radiators with individual flow control valves, the heat rejection requirements may be precisely adjusted. The combination of computer regulated thermal management system should reduce power consumption while satisfying temperature control objectives. This research focuses on developing and analyzing a multi-radiator system architecture for implementation in ground transportation applications. The premise is to use a single …

Lindley Processes With Correlated Changes, John Grant

All Dissertations

This dissertation studies a Lindley random walk model when the increment process driving the walk is strictly stationary. Lindley random walks govern customer waiting times in many queueing models and several natural and business processes, including snow depths, frozen soil depths, inventory quantities, etc. Probabilistic properties of a Lindley process with time-correlated stationary changes are explored. We provide a streamlined argument that the process admits a limiting stationary distribution when the mean of the incremental changes is negative and that the Lindley process is strictly stationary when starting from this stationary distribution. The Markov characteristics of the process are explored …

Developing And Facilitating Temporary Team Mental Models Through An Information-Sharing Recommender System, Geoffrey Musick

All Dissertations

It is well understood that teams are essential and common in many aspects of life, both work and leisure. Due to the importance of teams, much research attention has focused on how to improve team processes and outcomes. Of particular interest are the cognitive aspects of teamwork including team mental models (TMMs). Among many other benefits, TMMs involve team members forming a compatible understanding of the task and team in order to more efficiently make decisions. This understanding is sometimes classified using four TMM domains: equipment (e.g., operating procedures), task (e.g., strategies), team interactions (e.g., interdependencies) and teammates (e.g., tendencies). …

Modeling, Control And Estimation Of Reconfigurable Cable Driven Parallel Robots, Adhiti Raman Thothathri

All Dissertations

The motivation for this thesis was to develop a cable-driven parallel robot (CDPR) as part of a two-part robotic device for concrete 3D printing. This research addresses specific research questions in this domain, chiefly, to present advantages offered by the addition of kinematic redundancies to CDPRs. Due to the natural actuation redundancy present in a fully constrained CDPR, the addition of internal mobility offers complex challenges in modeling and control that are not often encountered in literature.

This work presents a systematic analysis of modeling such kinematic redundancies through the application of reciprocal screw theory (RST) and Lie algebra while …

The Impact Of Funds Of Knowledge On Elementary Multilingual Learners’ Perceptions Of Their Connection To Their Teacher And The Classroom, Kelli Lowe

All Dissertations

The U.S. population is rapidly becoming more culturally and linguistically diverse, and the education system is ill-equipped to meet the needs of these diverse learners thus creating large achievement gaps. In South Carolina, two factors contributing to an inadequate education system are the lack of teacher preparation programs that address cultural diversity and a predominantly White teacher workforce for an ever-growing diverse student body. The combination of these two factors is particularly detrimental to multilingual learners in the most critical time of a child’s development. This qualitative study was part of a collaboration and combined improvement science with design thinking …

Building Teachers’ Cultural Capital In The Classroom: Using Funds Of Knowledge To Support Multilingual Learners, Lindsey Skirtich

All Dissertations

This qualitative study has a collaborative focus and blends improvement science with Design Thinking to first understand teachers’ perceptions of their ability to serve ML students and second, how the utilization of the Funds of Knowledge (FoK) can assist teachers in serving ML students. The purpose of this study is to use the Funds of Knowledge to build the capacity of teachers to connect with students through their lived experiences.

Through collaboration and reflection, this study investigated teachers’ perceptions and focused on increasing teachers’ ability to serve ML students utilizing a framework intended to connect students’ backgrounds to the classroom.

Understanding Creative Pedagogy Of Saudi High School Stem Teachers: Three Case Studies Of Mawhiba And Public Science Classes, Maryam Salman Bojulaia

Dissertations

The Saudi government recently emphasized creative thinking in the education context to change the country’s economy from an oil-based economy to a mindset-based economy (Vision 2030, n.d.). On the other hand, the recent version of the challenges in Saudi K-12 education indicates that significant obstacles impede the promotion of creative thinking. Conventional teaching methods focus on rote memorization and have limited concentration on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. This research aims to describe and compare the creative pedagogy experiences of STEM educators in a Mawhiba classroom (customized classroom for creative and gifted students) and a public classroom (for …

Predicting Alzheimer's Disease Using Filter Feature Selection Method, Shaymaa Taha Ahmed, Suhad Malallah

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

lzheimer’s disease (AD) is caused by multiple variables. Alzheimer's disease development and progression are influenced by genetic variants. The molecular pathways causing Alzheimer's disease are still poorly understood. In Alzheimer's disease research, determining an effective and reliable diagnosis remains a major difficulty, particularly in the early stages (i.e., Moderate Cognitive Impairment (MCI)). Researchers and technologists working in the fields of machine learning and data mining can help improve the situation, early AD diagnosis but face a hurdle when it comes to highdimensional data processing. By reducing irrelevant and redundant data from microarray gene expression data, the technique of feature selection …

Systematic Review On Cyber-Security Applications, Shaymaa Mahmood Naser, Yossra Ali

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Cybersecurity systems have been taken into account in modern information systems and methods. This is due to the increase in electronic attacks on storage information in terms of transmission, reception and storage. Therefore, the need to produce such systems in a complete way to prevent their penetration into the network has increased. In addition, artificial intelligence (AI) methods are used in cybersecurity systems as classifiers, attack detectors, and components for predicting threats that surround the network. This requires more information about threats and vulnerabilities to be covered to avoid any errors. In this paper, a systematic review is conducted to …

A Survey Of Power Consumption Minimization In Wsn Using Feedback Control Strategies, Najat M. Ramadhan, Ali M., Safanah M. Raafat

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) represents a key network in the present and future Internet of Things (IoT) technology. WSN has an uncountable number of applications and is commonly used to aggregate information and control the physical environment remotely through small embedded devices known as wireless sensor nodes. Power consumption is one of the main challenges in WSN due to the limitation of power resources. Consequently, several techniques have been followed to optimize power consumption. The feedback control system is one of the routes that has been utilized to minimize power consumption in WSN using the mathematical model of power and …

Medical Image Enhancement Techniques, Dhuha Abd Almoanf, Shaimaa H.

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Computed tomography (CT) is used to diagnose diseases and tumors. A special dye called contrast material is used in CT scans to assist emphasize the parts of the body being examined. Therefore, an enhancement technique to improve CT images' degradation is needed. This paper aims to present a method to enhance the quality of Ct-Scan images based on discrete wavelets transform and the Retinex algorithm. The proposed methods are based on the Retinex algorithm parameters or Dark Channel Prior algorithm parameters, according to the output image from preprocessing and discrete wavelets algorithm steps to increase the lightness degree of an …

Combinatorial Testing Approaches: A Systematic Review, Heba Mohammed Fadhil, Mohammed Najm, Mohammed Issam Younis

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Testing is a vital phase in software development, and having the right amount of test data is an important aspect in speeding up the process. As a result of the integrationist optimization challenge, extensive testing may not always be practicable. There is also a shortage of resources, expenses, and schedules that impede the testing process. One way to explain combinational testing (CT) is as a basic strategy for creating new test cases. CT has been discussed by several scholars while establishing alternative tactics depending on the interactions between parameters. Thus, an investigation into current CT methods was started in order …

A Hybrid Digital Image Watermarking By Using Dwt And Lsb Method, Zainab F. Makhrib, Abdulamir A.

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

The Digital watermarking is a field of information hiding that entails hiding the crucial information in the original data in order to prevent illegal duplication and distribution of multimedia data such as image, video, text and ect.. In this paper, we present two techniques to embed watermarks in the cover image. The first is the Least Significant Bit (LSB) method, which is a spatial domain technique and considered fragile against attacks and other operations. The second method is the frequency domain technique, which uses Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and is considered robust against attacks. The efficiency and performance of these …

A Proposed Authentication Method For Document In Blockchain Based E-Government System, Zainab A. Kamal, Rana F.

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

the primary concerns with manual transactions include corruption, lack of transparency, fraud, and mismanagement of distribution operations, all of which are created by traditional centralized applications, necessitating the migration to blockchain technology. In this work, a system is presented to secure and monitor correspondence between several nodes and store it in a decentralized database in order to secure distributed ledger transactions and safeguard against fraud and tampering when transactions are shared by multiple parties. The hashing that blockchain technology delivers in each transaction ensures a high level of security. The hashing associated with each transaction confirms all sending and receiving …

Machine Learning Approach Based On Automated Classification For Leg Rehabilitation, Ayat Naji Hussain, Sahar Adil, Basim Abdul Baki Jumma, Mohammed Najm Abdullah

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Human gait data follows distinct and identifiable patterns that are critical for movement analysis and evaluation Like other biological signals. The success of a rehabilitation program is dependent on the execution of proper progress monitoring. To ensure success, diagnosis of gait anomalies, as well as the implementation of therapy to address them, must be validated in a constant and timely manner in developing youngsters. In this paper, machine learning techniques were utilized to classify foot diseases and the purpose is to increase the accuracy of disease detection and diagnosis because intelligent systems can contribute significantly in the medical field and …

Generating Honeyword Based On A Proposed Bees Algorithm, Yasser A. Yasser, Ahmed T., Wasim Alhamdani

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Honeywords are fake passwords that are typically companions to the real password “sugarword.” The honeyword technique is a password cracking detection technique that works effectively to improve the security of hashed passwords by making password cracking simpler to detect. The password database will contain many honeywords for each user in the system. A silent alarm will trigger, indicating that the password database has been compromised if the hacker signs in using a honeyword. The honeychecker is a separate server in charge of recognizing the real password and raising the silent alarm. Many honeyword creation techniques have been presented previously. They …