Digital Commons Network^™

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Cognitive Decline, Kallie Bakker

Graduate Research Papers

This study analyzes the association between ACEs and cognitive decline as well as both ACEs and cognitive declines relationship to gender. It is a secondary data analysis of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. The BRFSS is composed of data collected from adults (individuals aged 18 and older) across the United States. The results of this study indicate that there is indeed a relationship between ACEs and cognitive decline. It was found that Adults who experienced more Adverse Childhood Experiences experience greater cognitive decline. Another significant finding is the significant relationship found between cognitive decline and gender. This …

Investigating The Effects Math Achievement Has On A Student’S Attitude Toward Physics, Katherine Weivoda

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this project was to examine the correlation between math achievement and both physics attitudes and specific topics of beginner level physics. This project was studied because of the common issue of students having negative attitudes toward physics. Causes for negative attitudes toward physics are typically researched by surveys. An online survey was given to students at the University of Northern Iowa. Questions about physics attitudes, physics topics attitudes, and math attitudes were asked along with chances for them to explain their thinking. A total of 72 students were categorized by math achievement by both the number of …

Representation Of Lgbtq+ Characters In The 2019 To 2022 Iowa Teen Award Books, Jamie Thompson

Graduate Research Papers

This qualitative literary content analysis examines the representation of LGBTQ+ themes in the student-nominated Iowa Teen Award (ITA) books from the past three years to help librarians and classroom teachers build an inclusive library collection. The research question posed in this study is: In what ways are LGBTQ+ characters represented in the Iowa Teen Award books? The analysis of eight middle-grade books (Appendix A) using the book analysis tool (Appendix B) identified three themes: Transformation of Understanding, Hopefulness, and Richness of Plot. Results showed that while all the books had a complex storyline, only five of the books showed a …

Implications Of Educational Environments For Gender And Sexually Diverse Adolescents, Margaret J. Staff

Graduate Research Papers

Gender and sexually diverse adolescents (GSD) experience extreme risk to their safety and well-being in all parts of their lives, including in their educational experience (The Trevor Project, 2023). With the risks GSD adolescents experience, it is important to understand the negatives and positives they report. Positive experiences included their self-defined identities, peer connections, and the GSD community and negative experiences surrounded their families, schools, religious institutions, and residential communities (Higa et al., 2014).

The Role Of Parental Divorce In Childhood On Depression Among Adults, Amy Stoermer

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between parental divorce and depression in emerging young adults who responded to the 2019 BRFSS study. The 2019 BRFSS utilized a Disproportionate Stratified Sample design to gather data across all states in the U.S. by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The final number of participants used in this study was 50,804, ranging in age from 18 through 30. The number of male participants was 27,208 and the number of female participants was 23,596. The race of participants consisted of 31,177 white/non-Hispanic, 4,327 black/non-Hispanic, 3,443 Asian/non-Hispanic, and 2,831 …

Evaluating The Impact Of Model-Evidence-Link Charts In Seventh-Grade Student’S Ability To Engage In Scientific Argumentation Over Plant Reproductive Structures, Josephine Libby

Graduate Research Papers

The MEL has been utilized in a variety of topics, but not plant reproductive structures. The resource would allow students to form connections between provided scientific text and provided models. The goal is to have students understand the text and connect it to the correct model over the model based on a common misconception.

The study also investigated whether the use of these models would gain student confidence in the area of scientific argumentation. Scientific argumentation is a scientific practice a part of the Next Generation Science Standards that have been adopted by the state of Iowa. The middle school …

Measurement: The Forgotten Unit: Introduction To Quantitative Data Acquisition In Ninth Grade Physical Science, James F. Duff

Graduate Research Papers

What if you have determined that the students you teach need foundational knowledge and skills that are not addressed in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)? My Ninth Grade Physical Science class provides an introduction to the data intensive subjects of subsequent secondary science classes. Sound data requires accurate measurements. Students in my classes have struggled with layering the metric system of measurement on top of the Imperial system and the NGSS lacks a standard that directly addresses measurement with metric units.

I used the Backward Design process of Wiggins & McTighe (2005) to construct a unit centered on the …

Neural Correlates Of Audiovisual Narrative Speech Perception In Children And Adults On The Autism Spectrum: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study, Lars A. Ross, Sophie Molholm, John S. Butler, Victor A. Del Bene, Tufikameni Brima, John J. Foxe

Articles

Autistic individuals show substantially reduced benefit from observing visual articulations during audiovisual speech perception, a multisensory integration deficit that is particularly relevant to social communication. This has mostly been studied using simple syllabic or word-level stimuli and it remains unclear how altered lower-level multisensory integration translates to the processing of more complex natural multisensory stimulus environments in autism. Here, functional neuroimaging was used to examine neural correlates of audiovisual gain (AV-gain) in 41 autistic individuals to those of 41 age-matched non-autistic controls when presented with a complex audiovisual narrative. Participants were presented with continuous narration of a story in auditory-alone, …

Conventional Extraction Of Fucoidan From Irish Brown Seaweed Fucus Vesiculosus Followed By Ultrasound-Assisted Depolymerization, Viruja Ummat, Saravana Periaswamy Sivagnanam, Dilip K. Rai, Colm O’Donnell, Gillian E. Conway, Shane M. Heffernan, Stephen Fitzpatrick, Henry Lyons, James Curtin, Brijesh Kumar Tiwari

Articles

Fucoidan has attracted considerable attention from scientists and pharmaceutical companies due to its antioxidant, anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and health-enhancing properties. However, the extraction of fucoidan from seaweeds often involves the use of harsh chemicals, which necessitates the search for alternative solvents. Additionally, the high viscosity and low cell permeability of high molecular weight (Mw) fucoidan can limit its effectiveness in drug action, while lower Mw fractions exhibit increased biological activity and are also utilized as dietary supplements. The study aimed to (1) extract fucoidan from the seaweed Fucus vesiculosus (FV) using an environmentally friendly solvent and compare it with the …

Sustainable Use Of Wastewater In Concrete Construction, Mohammadamin Soltanianfard

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation investigates the use of wastewater from various treatment stages in concrete production to promote sustainable construction practices. Concrete prepared with potable water (PW) served as a control, while wastewater from plant final effluent (FE), chlorine contact basin (CL), secondary clarifier effluent (SC), primary clarifier effluent (PC), and bar screen effluent (BSE) was evaluated.

A comprehensive testing program was implemented to assess performance, including compressive strength tests, water absorption measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results showed that wastewater from advanced stages (FE, CL, SC) had minimal impact on strength and durability, …

Characterization Of Mtdna Minicircles In A Chewing Louse Stachiella Octomaculatus, Jaylie Hicklin

Honors Program Theses

No abstract provided.

Exploring Group Behavior Through Evolutionary Game Theory: Disease Dynamics, Cooperation, And Reputation, Alina Glaubitz

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Cooperation is fundamental in the natural world and crucial to modern society, particularly in managing public health crises such as infectious diseases. This thesis investigates the evolutionary dynamics of cooperation, focusing on its role in com- bating infectious diseases, exemplified by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. We first examine the social dilemma posed by non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as social distancing and face covering. We integrate these interventions into models of disease dynamics, revealing an oscillatory tragedy of the commons: as infection rates fall, public adherence to social distancing wanes, leading to subsequent infection surges. Expanding the model to include less effective …

Measuring Spontaneous Neurotransmission Using Genetically Encoded Fluorescent Indicators, Amelia Jane Ralowicz

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Synaptic connections throughout the nervous system exhibit two forms of neurotransmitter release caused by synaptic vesicle fusion, evoked and spontaneous release. Despite being discovered 70 years ago, the mechanisms governing spontaneous release have remained elusive. Our understanding of spontaneous release lacks mechanistic details including discrepancies in the sources of synaptic vesicles supporting it, the source(s) of calcium supporting it, and most importantly an unclear relationship (cooperative or antagonistic) with evoked release. These gaps exist due to a lack of experimental methods specific to the study of spontaneous release at individual synapses.

This thesis addresses these gaps in two ways. Firstly, …

Identification And Therapeutic Targeting Of Metabolic Alterations In Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer, Steven Tau

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer remains one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers in women. Despite adjuvant endocrine therapy reducing the rate of recurrence, there remains a significant proportion of patients whose breast cancer will recur years to decades after the initial diagnosis. The underlying biology of tumor cells in the period between initiation of adjuvant therapy and recurrence is relatively unexplored, preventing the development of better treatment options. From a genome-wide screening approach, we identified and characterized broad metabolic reprogramming associated with the persistent cell state. We demonstrate that a decreased ability to metabolize glucose in turn pushes a higher …

Near-Infrared Paired-Agent Imaging For In Vivo Quantification Of Receptor Occupancy In Tumor, Yichen Feng

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Accurate assessment of drug receptor occupancy (RO) holds significant importance in both drug development and personalized medicine, as it facilitates quantitative characterization of dose-response relationship for a given drug. This information not only aids appropriate dose selection for clinical trials but also guides personalized dose optimization in precision medicine.

Molecular imaging, utilizing receptor-specific imaging agents for tissue visualization, has emerged as the major option for in vivo measurement of tissue RO. Nonetheless, the abnormal yet complex structure and hemodynamics of tumors often lead to substantial non-specific uptake and retention of imaging agents, thus introducing significant bias to RO measurements. To …

Exploring 3d Genome Interaction And Epigenetic Regulation Via Swi/Snf Complex And Deep Learning Models, Ruoyun Wang

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The three-dimensional organization of the genome is fundamental in regulating gene expression and maintaining cellular function. This organization's complexities, influenced by epigenetic marks and chromatin remodeling complexes, are crucial for understanding genomic regulation. Among these, the SWI/SNF complexes are key, facilitating chromatin accessibility and regulating gene activity across cell types. The first part of my dissertation focuses on SWI/SNF complexes, exploring their role in chromatin remodeling and their impact on 3D genome architecture. Utilizing next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques, this section investigates the interplay between these complexes and chromatin structure. During my research on the SWI/SNF complex, I was intrigued by …

Continuous, Platform Purification Of Viral Products Using Aqueous Two-Phase Extraction, Natalie M. Nold

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Cell and gene therapies, a ground-breaking class of drugs that can heal genetic diseases and cure cancer, often have treatment costs over $1 million. Most cell and gene therapies are delivered using virus-based delivery vectors, which are incredibly expensive to manufacture. Liquid chromatography is the favored method of viral vector purification since it is easily scalable and can be functionalized to purify by biospecificity, charge, hydrophobicity, or size. However, chromatography-based purification processes are highly expensive and usually only recover 20-50% of the viral vectors. There is currently no platform purification strategy for viral vectors due to differences in their surface …

Optimizing Diabetes Diagnostics: Electrophoretic Separation And Detection Of Hemoglobin A1c With Boronate, Rixlie Fozilova

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Diabetes affects 537 million people worldwide, while 136 million Americans have diabetes or prediabetes; roughly 22.6% of individuals are undiagnosed. Diabetes is the inability to regulate blood sugar levels. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is glycosylated hemoglobin and indicates average blood sugar levels over the past three months.

We adapted the selective boronic acid binding to the HbA1c sugar moieties from boronate affinity chromatography and translated it into a portable microchip paper-based electrophoresis platform. We explored a range of boronate concentrations at a steady voltage and sample volume to determine the optimal HbA1c binding and subsequent electrophoretic separation. A pH above 11 …

Multi-Functional Gelatin-Dithiolane Hydrogels For Tissue Engineering, Saad Asim

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Biomaterials that integrate multiple functionalities, mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM) microenvironment to support cellular growth, and adhere robustly to damaged tissues are highly needed to advance tissue engineering. Protein-based biomaterials are promising due to their inherent biocompatibility, biomimicry, biodegradation, and cell-supportive properties. Herein, by leveraging the unique ability of dithiolanes to generate on-demand in-situ thiols, we developed a new class of dithiolane-modified, protein-based biomaterial that combines unique, seemingly opposing functions for tissue engineering. Dithiolane-modified gelatin, a model protein used herein, enabled photoinitiator-free photo-crosslinking to form multi-functional gelatin-dithiolane (GelDT) hydrogels, which displayed exceptional long-term stability in cell culture media (>28 …

Contribution Of The Transcription Factor Red Nac To Low Nitrogen Phenotypes In Poplar, Shane Alexander Spence

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Greenhouse grafting and field trials were conducted to examine the contribution of the RED NAC transcription factor on low nitrogen phenotypes in hybrid poplar (P. tremula x P. alba). Reciprocal grafting trials showed both root and shoot expression contribute to phenotype under low nitrogen conditions, and shoot expression has a leading role in contribution to low-nitrogen phenotype. The impact of RED NAC expression level on auxin polar transport was investigated using a DR5::GUS auxin-responsive reporter gene line as rootstock for RED NAC modified scions. Pilot studies indicate the rate of auxin transport from apex to roots is slower through shoots …

A Multimolecular Perspective On The Success Of Wolf Recovery And Relocation, Samuel D. Hervey

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

With global biodiversity in decline and many species isolated in fragmented habitats, conservation efforts increasingly rely on natural recolonization and translocation to restore ecosystems. These strategies face challenges such as genetic erosion and habitat limitations, highlighting the need for effective monitoring practices. This research assesses the success of wolf recovery initiatives by examining long-term genetic and genomic health using both traditional and advanced molecular methods. First, we investigated the genetic health of 19 gray wolves (Canis lupus) relocated to Isle Royale National Park to restore ecosystem balance. Initial genetic assessments with microsatellites found that these wolves had genetic diversity metrics …

A Physicochemical Characterization Of Protein Aggregates: Influence Of Lipid Membranes And Surfaces, Connor J. Hall

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Protein aggregation is a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs). Although there has been a greater emphasis in the past decade or more on the correlation between the physicochemical characteristics of aggregates and their cellular toxicity, it is still unclear what specific features of an aggregate render it toxic. To better understand that, there has been a renewed focus on the characterization of unique biochemical and biophysical properties of protein aggregates. Elucidation of these unique characteristics can help to better understand disease pathogenesis in vivo. Furthermore, the lipid-rich nature of the brain sets it apart from all other organs, and numerous …

Analytical And Machine Learning Modeling Of Direct Carbonation Of Natural Silicate Minerals, William Hanson

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The climate-altering effects of atmospheric CO₂ make it necessary to develop innovative technologies that can remove it from the atmosphere. Mineral carbonation is a scalable technology to sequestrate and store CO2 in a stable carbonate mineral form. The efficiency of the mineral carbonation process depends on both feed mineralogy and process parameters. Comprehensive modeling and prediction of mineral carbonation efficiency for different CO₂ – reactive rocks has not been achieved in the past. In this thesis work, analytical and machine learning models are developed to predict the carbonation efficiency of dunite reactions. It is found that random forest …

The Role Of Neighborhood Effects In Maintaining The Hardwood-Hemlock Mosaic, Adam Z. Milenkowic

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Neighborhood effects are processes mediated by canopy trees that influence the ability of a species to replace itself following canopy mortality. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) and eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.) are the dominant trees in old-growth northern hardwood forests of Upper Michigan and have been observed to form monodominant patches in the region. Few studies have independently evaluated the demographic and ecological mechanisms that lead to the compositional stability of hemlock and sugar maple patch development. Tree demography data from eight long-term 0.5 ha old-growth plots in Upper Michigan indicate neighborhood effects are playing a …

Autonomic Modulation Of Cardiac Function In Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Jenna Rose Disser

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common genetic heart disorder. HCM is characterized by cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and an increased risk of fatal arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Previous studies in humans with HCM have demonstrated increased cardiac norepinephrine spillover and reduced beta-1 receptor (β1R) expression in the left ventricle (LV). We have previously demonstrated that cardiac sympathetic tone is elevated in an alpha-tropomyosin mutant mouse model of HCM. We hypothesized that HCM mice would demonstrate reduced β1R expression in the LV and attenuated heart rate (HR) and dP/dt max responses to ramped infusion of the β1R agonist, dobutamine. …

Implementing Associative Learning Using Neuromorphic Robot, Vinay Kumar Pillalamarri

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Associative learning, a key cognitive process seen across the animal kingdom, enables organisms to form connections between stimuli and adapt their behaviors based on past experiences. A particularly powerful example is fear conditioning, where animals learn to associate a neutral stimulus with an aversive one, allowing them to predict and avoid potential threats. Inspired by this mechanism, this project implements associative learning on an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to develop adaptive behavior through neuromorphic principles. Utilizing Nengo for neural modeling, the UGV learns to associate visual (red color) and tactile (vibration) stimuli through Hebbian learning, a biologically inspired synaptic adaptation …

Synthesis Of Long Oligodeoxynucleotides, Yipeng Yin

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Synthetic long oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) have found wide applications in diverse fields such as chemical biology, synthetic biology, and genes and genomes synthesis. Those applications leading to a significant demand for their production. However, traditional methods for purifying synthetic ODNs present notable drawbacks, particularly their inability to purify long ODNs, rendering long ODN synthesis challenging. To address these issues, chemical synthesis techniques for long ODNs coupled with non-chromatographic purification methods have been developed. This technology makes the purification of long synthetic ODNs feasible and offers a viable pathway for producing genes and genomes with extensive repeats or stable secondary structures, which …

Computational Analysis Of Vascular Aneurysms, Seyedmostafa Rezaeitaleshmahalleh

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Vascular aneurysms, such as intracranial aneurysms (IAs) and abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs), pose significant health risks, particularly upon rupture. Disturbed hemodynamics, characterized by swirling flow patterns, can lead to cellular and structural changes that disrupt normal physiological processes and contribute to destructive vascular remodeling. Integrating hemodynamic analysis into clinical assessments of aneurysms has become crucial, especially through patient-specific computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations based on medical imaging. However, the complexity of CFD tools presents challenges in model creation and post-simulation analysis, limiting their accessibility to clinicians.
This project aimed to advance aneurysm management by exploring the role of intraluminal thrombus …

Orthographic Influences On The Production Of French Nasal Vowels By English-Speaking Learners Of French, Claire Evelyn Tow

Honors Program Theses

The present study investigated acoustic differences (F1F2 vowel space and duration) in French nasal vowel productions by three participants who speak French as a first language (L1-French speakers) and ten participants who speak English as a first language and French as a second language (L2-French speakers). French nasal vowel production by L2-French speakers was acoustically analyzed in two conditions: Auditory-Orthographic (Aud-Ortho) and Auditory-Only (Aud-Only). The results indicated a larger F1F2 vowel space for L2-French speakers in the AudOrtho task compared to the Aud-Only task. French nasal vowel durations were slightly longer for the L2-French speakers. Spectrograms from L2-French speakers revealed …

Using Gis To Evaluate Habitat Connectivity Among The Pollinator Conservation Reserve Program Pollinator Habitat (Cp-42) Restorations In Northeast Iowa, Ethan D. Dickey

Honors Program Theses

The Conservation Reserve Program pollinator habitat conservation practice (CP-42) allows farmers to turn their land, once used for agriculture, into restored prairie to provide floral sources and habitat for wild pollinators. In order for these sites to be fully effective, they must be accessible to native bees and other pollinator species. To understand the movement of native bees and how these corridors are being used to establish new bee communities in these restored sites, we must understand the landscape around them. The vegetation and native bee communities were surveyed at nineteen CP-42 sites in 2018 and 2019. Landscape and land-use …