Digital Commons Network^™

Personality And Social Media Use, Joshua Pearson

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study seeks to examine the connection between social media usage and the Enneagram personality model. This connection will aid in a better understanding of what motivates individuals to use social media. The information found in this study will be applied to understanding behavioral addiction. This understanding will allow more personalized treatment for individuals already subject to these behaviors and preventive treatment for those more susceptible to behavioral addiction to social media. In order to find the connection between social media use and the Enneagram personality model, a survey including an Enneagram personality inventory, a social media use inventory, and …

The Relationship Between Evening Screen Time Use And Objectively Measured Sleep Outcomes In U.S. College Students, Donya Sedaghat

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Research suggests that elevated levels of screen time in the evening can negatively impact sleep outcomes (sleep duration, quality, and latency). Yet, there is a lack of evidence exploring if this relationship exists in college students. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between evening screen time use and objectively measured sleep outcomes in US college students. College students (N = 29) junior or senior standing in a Health Sciences major were recruited to participate in this cross-sectional study. Participants wore accelerometers on their wrist for 24hr/day for seven days to capture sleep duration, efficiency, awakenings, and …

Bilingual Switch Cost Effect On Language Processing, Ancuta Rader

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Recent reports suggest that over half of the world's population regularly uses two or more languages (or dialects) in their daily lives. The U.S. Census Bureau reports 21.6% of the population communicates in a language other than English within their homes. Thus, it is essential to methodically investigate how language processing and learning vary between monolingual and bilingual individuals. To date, research on the effects of bilingualism on language processing has been inconsistent or conflicting. The present study was designed to empirically examine if bilingual speakers differ in language processing and comprehension compared to their monolingual counterparts. It was hypothesized …

Chemical Analysis For Phytochemical Residues On Ceramics From Cape Canaveral Archaeological Sites, Jacob Woodard

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study aims to contribute to the field of paleoethnobotany in Florida archaeology by presenting a novel approach to chemical residue analysis using UV-vis spectroscopy. The project's main goals are to develop a spectroscopic method for analyzing ceramics to identify phytochemical residues and present the findings of chemical analysis applied to ceramics from the Cape Canaveral archaeological mitigation project (CCAMP). The study focuses on two sites, the Penny site (8BR158) and Burns site (8BR85) in Florida's Indian River region.

While organic residue analysis (ORA) has been applied to various materials and regions, limited research ORA on has been conducted within …

Aerobic And Anaerobic Exercises In Relation To Anxiety And Depression, Ethan D. Mote

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The use of exercise is crucial as a means of treatment for various psychological disorders. However, as more research is being done, there seems to be a lack of consensus as to which type of exercise is most effective, aerobic or anaerobic. 232 students participated in this study via Qualtrics, and were asked to participate in the study by answering 9 questionnaires: the Demographics Questionnaire, GAD7, Beck Depression Inventory, PCL5, QOLS, Exercise History and Attitudes Questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Healthy Eating Assessment, and the RYFF Psychological Well-being Scales. The results found that a combination of aerobic, anaerobic, and …

Biological Versus Social Factors Of Juvenile Sex Offenders: A Meta-Analysis, Katherine M. Phillips

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Juvenile sex offending is not a new phenomenon but is one of limited research, with only a slight increase in research in the past decade. This meta-analysis used 5 articles to determine which holds a greater influence on juvenile sex offenders, biological or social factors. Biological factors were divided into impulsiveness, psychosis/mental health diagnosis (excluding paraphilic disorders), and sexual deviance/paraphilia. Social factors were divided into antisocial behavior, prior criminal activity, prior exposure to sexual activities/pornography, and history of being sexually abused. This meta-analysis found that biological factors have a slightly greater effect on Juvenile sex offenders, but it was not …

Plants And Environment: A Paleoethnobotanical Analysis Of The Vosburg Site (21fa002), Jaelyn Elizabeth Stebbins

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Recognized archaeologically by their distinct material culture, Oneota sites exist in many ecological zones across the Upper Midwest during the late Precontact period, c. 1000-1700 CE. Consequently, the sites are hardly homogenous. Across localities, Oneota groups are recognized as food producers who grew Zea mays (maize), Cucurbita pepo (squash), and later Phaseolus vulgaris (bean). The utilization of other wild and domesticated botanical resources across localities is not as well documented.. While extensive paleoethnobotanical analyses have been completed for the late Precontact period in southeastern Minnesota (Schirmer) and southwestern Wisconsin (Arzigian), little is known about plant utilization by Oneota groups on …

The Influence Of Genetics, Insulin Resistance, Oxidative Stress, And Energy Deficit On Migraine, Victoria Dm Maldonado Llinas

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The pathomechanism of migraine attacks is not understood well, however, is currently believed to be a brain disorder. Migraine is a multifactorial disorder that needs to be investigated in multiple research areas to shed light into its mechanism and find ways to treat it effectively. Migraine episodes come from one or many things at the same time, and such vary from person to person. However, sufficient evidence in recent studies show there is a strong relationship between genetics with patients having specific genes that may be responsible for the disease or a genetic sequence passed down through generations in families, …

Attention, Working Memory, And Adaptive Functioning In Emerging Young Adults With Psychometrically-Defined Schizotypy, Parth Nakirikanti

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Schizotypy, a complex construct linked to schizophrenia-related traits, encompasses positive, negative, and disorganized symptoms. This study offers a review of the concept of schizotypy, including its historical evolution, tracing it from Bleuler's early mention in 1911 to Meehl's continuum model. Embracing a dimensional perspective, this research underscores the interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors in understanding schizotypy. Deficits in sustained attention and working memory within schizotypy remain underexplored, with prior studies yielding inconsistent results. Adaptive functioning deficits in individuals with schizotypy are also inadequately understood. Examining a college student population, this investigation utilized scores on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire …

Effect Of Estrogen On Chondrogenesis In Female Articular Chondrocytes, Ebony R. Parsons

Honors Undergraduate Theses

As women age and transition into menopause they face a higher risk of developing osteoarthritis leading to total joint replacements. Estrogen is the primary female reproductive hormone. As a woman approaches menopause, estrogen production decreases by 100-fold. Previous research has shown that Estrogen Replacement Therapy (ERT) reduced joint replacements in post-menopausal women. However, there is a lack of research surrounding ERT's effect on chondrocyte proliferation and extracellular matrix production, particularly 3D culture extracellular matrix production. Chondrogenesis is a process of skeletal development resulting in the formation of cartilage. Chondrocytes, derived from mesenchymal progenitors, serve as the fundamental cellular component in …

Preparing College Students With Adhd For Online Job Interviews: Self-Regulation & Psychophysiology, Tahnee L. Wilder

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This dissertation investigates the complex dynamics of digital communication, highlights the unique stressors it places on college students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and advocates for adopting interdisciplinary methods to enhance their participation in online communication environments. While online interviewing has become increasingly common in the employment domain, it poses unique difficulties for individuals with ADHD, who may struggle with self-regulation and communication skills. Due to the absence of physical presence, online interviews pose a significant challenge to individuals in perceiving and responding to the nuanced range of non-verbal cues, which can greatly impact the effectiveness of their communication. To advance …

Bench- And Pilot-Scale Corrosion Control Inhibitor Effectiveness Studies For A Community's Blended Surficial And Brackish Groundwater Supply, Paula Campesino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The United States Environmental Protection Agency regulates the lead and copper content of a public water system's finished water at the consumer's tap, through the Safe Drinking Water Act's Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), promulgated in 1991. This rule was recently changed through the LCR Revisions (LCRR), that took effect in 2021. The more stringent requirements of the LCRR motivated the City of Sarasota, Florida (City), to work with the University of Central Florida (UCF) on a study of the municipality's finished water corrosivity. Initially, this evaluation investigated the City's existing finished water corrosivity using linear polarization resistance (LPR) measurements …

Understanding, Modeling, And Simulating The Discrepancy Between Intended And Perceived Image Appearance On Optical See-Through Augmented Reality Displays, Austin Erickson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Augmented reality (AR) displays are transitioning from being primarily used in research and development settings, to being used by the general public. With this transition, these displays will be used by more people, in many different environments, and in many different contexts. Like other displays, the user's perception of virtual imagery is influenced by the characteristics of the user's environment, creating a discrepancy between the intended appearance and the perceived appearance of virtual imagery shown on the display. However, this problem is much more apparent for optical see-through AR displays, such as the HoloLens. For these displays, imagery is superimposed …

How Parents Perceive School Readiness, Jody Silvester

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this study was to explore parents' perceptions of children entering kindergarten and their understanding of school readiness. In this collective case study, drawing on parent interviews and artifact sampling and guided by discourse analysis (Gee, 2015), I employed Saldaña's (2021) cycle coding methods to explore the themes of what parents perceive and co-construct as 'school readiness'. Data collected for this study includes video recorded interviews of four participants as well as artifacts of their child(ren)'s classroom assessments, parent-teacher conference forms and packets, and a checklist shared by the parents. The findings of the study showed parents' perception …

Development And Characterization Of Electrospray Ionization Modes In Mass Spectrometry: Applications In Protein Analysis And Beyond, Huishan Li

Doctoral Dissertations

Electrospray ionization (ESI) has emerged as a widely used soft ionization method, facilitating the introduction of intact molecular ions into mass spectrometers for diverse applications. Despite its popularity, ESI in its current form still faces certain non-ideal limitations. One ongoing research direction is focused on reducing the flow rate for ESI, a crucial parameter that correlates with the size of initial charged droplets generated. Smaller initial charged droplets have exhibited improved performances, including enhanced ionization efficiency, reduced nonspecific adducts, and minimized sample consumption. It would be of significant interest to measure and investigate ultra-low ESI flow rates for downscaled study. …

Trend Stationary Time Series: Simultaneous Estimation Of Trend And Autocorrelated Errors, Jakub Michel

Doctoral Dissertations

The world of time series analysis is predominantly focused on nonstationary time series, which exhibit various patterns and behaviors that researchers across different industries aim to analyze. Decomposing nonstationary time series into a trend component and a stationary process is a common approach, with trend and stationary process estimation achieved through parametric and nonparametric methods.

Polynomial regression and nonparametric methods, such as Kernels and B-Splines, are employed to estimate the trend. Once the trend is estimated, the residuals are obtained by subtracting the estimated trend from the data, allowing for the fitting of an ARMA stationary process. However, the estimation …

Clarifying The Role Of Microorganisms And Their Traits In Soil Organic Matter Formation, Emily Whalen

Doctoral Dissertations

Soil organic carbon (C), the largest actively cycling reservoir of C on earth, is ultimately derived from plant photosynthesis. Once in soils, a significant proportion of this C is processed by microbial communities prior to its incorporation into soil organic matter (SOM) pools, and microbial-derived organic matter inputs are increasingly recognized as a dominant source of SOM. Conceptual theory therefore posits that microbial physiological traits (e.g., growth efficiency) are central controls on SOM formation and stabilization. However, recent observations are mixed, and the specific traits that promote the formation and retention of different SOM functional pools (e.g., total vs. stable …

Elucidating Mechanisms Of Action Of Eicosapentaenoic Acid In Models Of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease, Samuel C.R. Sherratt

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACTELUCUDATING MECHANISMS OF ACTION OF EICOSAPENTAENOIC ACID IN MODELS OF ATHEROSCLEROTIC CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE by Samuel C.R. Sherratt, B.S. University of New Hampshire Omega-3 fatty acids (O3FAs) possess beneficial properties for cardiovascular (CV) health and elevated O3FA levels are associated with lower incident risk for CV disease (CVD). Yet, treatment of at-risk patients with various O3FA formulations has produced disparate results in large, well-controlled and well-conducted clinical trials. The formulation of the O3FAs used, specifically monotherapy of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or mixtures of EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), appears to dictate clinical efficacy, with benefits only observed with EPA monotherapy. The …

Use Of Seaweeds, Direct-Fed Microbial, And Nitrate To Mitigate Enteric Methane Emissions And Improve Health And Performance Of Dairy Cows, Diana Carolina Reyes Gomez

Doctoral Dissertations

Enteric methane (CH4) emissions from ruminants contribute significantly to global warming and represent a loss of dietary energy for the animal. Dietary manipulation is a promising approach for CH4 mitigation. Nitrate can effectively reduce CH4, but it can also be toxic in non-adapted ruminants. Supplementing with Paenibacillus fortis, a denitrifying probiotic strain, is a potential strategy to prevent toxicity. The interest in using macroalgae to mitigate CH4 emissions while improving animal health and production in ruminants has increased in recent years. The overall objective of this dissertation is to investigate nutritional-based strategies to mitigate enteric methane emissions and improve the …

Acid-Sensing By Olfactory Sensory Neurons And Regulation Of Neuron Reverse Migration By Primary Cilia During Postnatal Neurodevelopment, Juan Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

Cilia are microtubules-based, hair-like structures extending from the surface of cells. Cilia can be found in various parts of the body, including the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. Olfactory cilia, which are specialized immotile cilia located on the olfactory sensory neurons of the nasal cavity, are responsible for detecting and transmitting signals related to the sense of smell. Primary cilia, another type of immotile cilia that are present solitary in almost all mammalian cells, have emerged as crucial cell antennae that can sense extracellular chemical and mechanical signals. Although numerous studies have demonstrated that dysfunctions of primary …

Epigenetic Regulation During The Differentiation Of Embryonic Stem Cells Into Cardiomyocytes, Nan Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, constituting a quarter of total deaths. A major reason behind the high mortality of heart disease is the low regenerative capacity of cardiomyocytes (CMs), which carry out the contractile function of the heart. Lineage- specific differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into CMs provides a promising therapeutic strategy. However, current methods suffer from challenges in generating mature and homogenous CMs in sufficient quantities for practical application. Moreover, little is known about the underlying epigenetic regulations in CM differentiation, which is essential during the establishment and maintenance of cell identity …

Therapeutic Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibody Administration Protects Against Lethal Yellow Fever Virus Infection, Michael J. Ricciardi, Lauren N. Rust, Nuria Pedreño-Lopez, Sofiya Yusova, Sreya Biswas, Gabriela M. Webb, Lucas Gonzalez-Nieto, Thomas B. Voigt, Johan J. Louw, Fernanda D. Laurino, John R. Dibello, Hans-Peter Raué, Aaron M. Barber-Axthelm, Kimberly Chun, Samantha Uttke, Lidiane M. S. Raphael, Aaron Yrizarry-Medina, Brandon C. Rosen, Rebecca Agnor, Lina Gao, Caralyn Labriola, Michael Axthelm, Jeremy Smedley, Justin G. Julander, Myrna C. Bonaldo, Laura M. Walker, Ilhem Messaoudi, Mark K. Slifka, Dennis R. Burton, Esper G. Kallas, Jonah B. Sacha, David I. Watkins, Benjamin J. Burwitz

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Yellow fever virus (YFV) is a reemerging global health threat, driven by several factors, including increased spread of the mosquito vector and rapid urbanization. Although a prophylactic vaccine exists, vaccine hesitancy, supply deficits, and distribution difficulties leave specific populations at risk of severe YFV disease, as evidenced by recent outbreaks in South America. To establish a treatment for patients with severe YFV infection, we tested 37 YFV-specific monoclonal antibodies isolated from vaccinated humans and identified two capable of potently neutralizing multiple pathogenic primary YFV isolates. Using both hamster and nonhuman primate models of lethal YFV infection, we demonstrate that a …

Feature Selection In High-Dimensional Space With Applications To Gene Expression Data, Nishan Pantha

Theses

Recent years have seen rapid growth in high-dimensional datasets. Most existing machine learning (ML) algorithms fail in high-dimensional settings where many features could be redundant. A critical process of feature selection is thus applied in such a setting that helps in identifying the most relevant features while removing redundant ones. With the increase in high dimensionality, one is also faced with problems of efficiency and interpretation in performing such selection methods. Therefore, this thesis proposes a “novel” feature selection framework that uses an ensemble of interpretable ML algorithms to perform feature selection and the ranking of final features. Finally, this …

Nsu Huizenga College Of Business And Entrepreneurship 2023-2024 Graduate Catalog, Nova Southeastern University

Huizenga Postgraduate Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

2023-2024 Halmos College Of Arts And Sciences Graduate Program Catalog, Nova Southeastern University

Halmos College of Arts and Sciences Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Bird Articulation Guide, Kelsey Blaze Miller

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

Traveler's Diarrhea? The Epidemiology Of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli In Connecticut, 2019-2022, Nicole Bramlitt

Public Health Theses

Background: Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is known colloquially as “traveler’s diarrhea” in the United States. The state of Connecticut (CT) began collecting data about ETEC in 2019. As few clinical laboratories in CT routinely test for ETEC, it is likely that current detection and reporting methods, in conjunction with trends in healthcare-seeking behavior, only capture a small proportion of ETEC cases. Methods: Data were obtained from the CT Department of Public Health (DPH), the 2019 FoodNet Population Survey, and the 2020 US Census. The demographics of ETEC cases 2019-2022 and the 2020 CT population were compared. A multivariate analysis was …

Impact Of Sars-Cov-2 Variants On Vaccine Breakthrough Infections, Nicholas Francis Guagliardi Chen

Public Health Theses

SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern are defined by their increased intrinsic transmissibility and ability to evade immune recognition and neutralization, yet the relative importance of these factors in determining variant fitness in population settings is unclear. We hypothesize that as population level immunity has increased throughout the course of the pandemic, immune escape has played an increasingly important role in the emergence and sustained circulation of variants. Here, we use logistic regression models to estimate the odds of vaccine breakthrough infections for several major variants of concern in a population of Connecticut residents. We investigate the impact of immune escape on …

Scoping Review On Gonorrhea Vaccines, Linyang Li

Public Health Theses

Gonorrhea infection is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae and it is the second most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection around the globe. Although gonorrhea infection is treatable with antibiotics, the level of antimicrobial resistance continues to increase and has become a major public health concern. As options of available treatments are reduced by the emergence of AMR, it has become urgent to develop effective vaccines against gonorrhea infection. The purpose of this scoping review is to describe existing epidemiological evidence in support of gonorrhea vaccine development, to discuss the current vaccine candidates in clinical stages, and to evaluate the theoretical impact …

A Phylogeographic Analysis Of Sars-Cov-2 Variant Introduction, Kien Pham

Public Health Theses

The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is marked by continuing emergence of novel Omicron variants. However, the mechanism with which these lineages establish themselves in new geographical areas remains an understudied subject. In this research, we utilized a discrete phylogeographical analysis framework on 19,608 SARS-CoV-2 sequences of the BA.5 Omicron lineages between February and June 2022, in order to better understand how the variant emerged in different regions of the United States. We found that the earliest BA.5 introductions came from Africa, befitting the origin of the lineage. Additionally, we discovered extensive domestic transmission between the Department of Health and Human Services …