Digital Commons Network^™

Maintaining Legitimacy While Managing Competition: Do Transplant Survival Ratings Affect Kidney Transplant Waitlisting?, Andrew Placona

Theses and Dissertations

Statement of problem and objectives: Waitlisting is an essential step towards kidney transplantation among people with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). There are no universal standards for waitlisting ESRD patients and how waitlists are managed in kidney transplant programs is opaque and under-studied. This study investigated whether the quality ratings of kidney transplant programs based on their one-year survival rates were associated with waitlist outcomes, including the number of waitlist additions, waitlist removals, the risk profiles of patients added or removed from a kidney transplant program’s waitlist, and whether market competition among kidney transplant programs attenuated these relationships.

Procedure followed: …

Examining Youth Ethnic Identity And Parental Familismo As Protective Factors Against Bicultural Stress And Internalizing Symptoms In Latino Youth, Daniella Olivares

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence is a critical developmental period marked by increased vulnerability to mental health challenges. For Latino adolescents living in the U.S., experiences of bicultural stress may heighten the risk for adverse mental health outcomes. However, cultural strengths–such as youth ethnic identity and parental familismo–may serve as protective factors. The current study examined whether youth ethnic identity and parental familismo moderated the relationship between bicultural stress and internalizing symptoms among a diverse sample of Latino youth in central Virginia. Latino adolescents (n = 60) completed measures assessing bicultural stress, ethnic identity, and internalizing symptoms, while parents (n = 60) reported on …

Synthesis Of Iso-Dityrosine, A Potential Biomarker Of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Brandon R. Knouse

Theses and Dissertations

As the population of the United States continues to age, the prevalence of neurodegenerative disorders is rising, increasing the societal and clinical burden of diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and dementia-related conditions. Lewy Body Dementia (LBD), the second most common cause of dementia, shares underlying neuropathological features with Parkinson’s disease, including the aggregation of misfolded α-synuclein into Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites. Current diagnostic approaches rely heavily on cerebrospinal fluid biomarker analysis; however, significant overlap exists among biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions, limiting diagnostic specificity. Emerging evidence suggests that oxidative modifications of α-synuclein, particularly the formation …

"It's The People, Not The Place:" Queering Shared Space In Richmond, Virginia, Kathleen Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The intersection of queerness and planning is an understudied subject area that has implications for equity and access. Queer communities face real barriers to equitable access of resources that stem from a long history of legal, cultural, and economic marginalization. Experiences of shared spaces for queer groups and organizations is important to understand, as outward expressions of queerness are not always welcome in shared spaces, depending on sociopolitical context. Richmond, Virginia has a rich queer history both filled with challenges as well as examples of queer success and joy that makes it a prime case study selection.

This thesis utilizes …

The Mundo I Imagine, Angeliky Castrellon

Theses and Dissertations

My work investigates the human experience of belonging and how the force of displacement alters the perception of one's present and enables dissociation. After leaving my home and starting a new life overseas, coming back never felt the same; I couldn’t find peace and comfort anywhere. This made me create an imaginary world called “Mundo.” Shelters for the souls of the displaced, looking for comfort. As I became a graduate student in the Craft/Materials Studies department, my perspective widened, and my work itself answered a question for me: I want to be comfortable everywhere; how can my home be everywhere …

Loved Right: Encouraging The Responsible Adaptive Reuse Of Historic Buildings In The Information Age, Christie Chirinos

Theses and Dissertations

This research contributes to interior design scholarship by situating immersive virtual reality (VR) as an efficiency tool and an architectural visualization tool within adaptive reuse and historic preservation practice. Interior designers are increasingly tasked with mediating between cultural heritage, community stakeholders, regulatory constraints, and economic feasibility, in buildings that already exist. By positioning VR as a tool with utility across every stage of the design process, this study expands interior design research beyond material and spatial interventions to include storytelling and technological innovation as drivers for design decision-making. The work bridges interior design, preservation, and participatory planning, demonstrating how immersive …

What’S Sleep Got To Do With It? A Mixed Methods Exploration Of The Feasibility, Acceptability, And Initial Outcomes Of Group Cbt For Insomnia In Parkinson’S Disease, Claire M. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is commonly associated with sleep disturbances, affecting up to 80 percent of individuals with Parkinson’s. Effective and accessible treatments for sleep problems in Parkinson’s disease remain limited. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) is a well-established, non-pharmacological treatment for insomnia but has been minimally studied in Parkinson’s populations. This study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of a group-based CBTi intervention adapted for individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Participants engaged in a six-week group intervention that incorporated Parkinson’s-specific adaptations. Preliminary findings indicated that the adapted group CBTi intervention was generally feasible and …

Tuberculosis In Jim Crow Virginia, 1900-1972, Elizabeth Dooley

Theses and Dissertations

Tuberculosis (TB) was a major public health concern in the United States, especially in the first half of the twentieth century. Transmission and treatment of the disease, which is spread between humans through close contact, was complicated by racial segregation laws in the South known as Jim Crow laws. Virginia subscribed to these laws, which played a role in how and where Black Virginians with TB could be treated. Segregated treatment facilities with an inadequate number of beds for the number of infected people and deaths in the state added to these complications of disease control and plan for eradication. …

Early Math Readiness And Later Achievement: A Longitudinal Study, Bailey Bontrager

Theses and Dissertations

The current body of literature provides much evidence that mathematics skills at the start of kindergarten are predictive of later mathematics achievement, and that students enrolled in early childhood education (ECE) programs are better prepared for mathematics at the start of kindergarten. However, the potential for children to develop mathematical skills prior to entering kindergarten relies on access to ECE programs and resources in families’ surrounding communities. Recent use of geospatial data collection techniques and measures of community resource availability have enabled researchers to examine specific localities for the ways in which community organizations and institutions support residents in particular …

Comparison Of Artificial Intelligence Vs Human Observer For Periapical Radiolucency Detection, Adam J. Pink

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the performance of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) program (OverJet AI) with that of experienced endodontic residents, endodontists, a radiologist, and dental students in detecting periapical radiolucencies using radiographic images.

Methods: One hundred and fifty periapical radiographic images were analyzed using the OverJet AI software to determine the presence/absence of a periapical radiolucency as well as the size (small 1-3mm, medium 4-6mm, and large 6+mm). The unaltered images were also evaluated by two endodontic residents, two practicing endodontists, an oral radiologist and two 4th year dental students.

Results: Agreement between the AI …

Endodontic Access Through Zirconia Crowns: A Comparative Evaluation Of 3d Guided Versus Free-Handed Techniques, Maryam Alrughaib

Theses and Dissertations

Objective:

Accessing canals through full-coverage zirconia crowns is challenging and may increase the risk of misdirection, excessive dentin removal, and prolonged chair time. Guided endodontic access has been proposed to improve efficiency and precision. This study compared the accuracy and time efficiency of guided versus free-hand endodontic access through zirconia restorations. The hypothesis was that guided access would enhance canal localization precision and significantly reduce access time.

Methods:

Thirty-two extracted maxillary premolars were restored with 1-mm–reduced monolithic zirconia crowns (3Y-TZP, Katana HTML, Kuraray, Japan) and mounted in Modupro models. Teeth were assigned to two groups (n = 16 each): guided …

Use Of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation As An Assessment Of Corticospinal Excitability In Individuals With Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness, Elizabeth Cornforth

Theses and Dissertations

Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a common, disabling, chronic vestibular disorder whereby individuals experience symptoms of non-vertiginous dizziness, unsteadiness, and sway or rocking that are present most hours of the day, most days of the week. Individuals with PPPD have been noted to have an increased burden of dizziness and reduced quality of life compared to other dizziness diagnoses. The cause of PPPD is not well understood which can lead to years of diagnostic testing, failed therapies, and poor symptom management. It is important to understand PPPD pathophysiology so that optimal treatment interventions can be developed for this disorder to …

Advancing Cybersecurity Through Userland Memory Forensics: From Runtime Analysis To Security Applications, Hala Ali

Theses and Dissertations

Memory forensics has become a crucial component of digital investigations, particularly for detecting malware operating solely in system memory. As operating system vendors implemented kernel access restrictions, malware authors shifted to userland malware. However, existing memory forensics techniques have largely focused on kernel-level analysis, leaving userland runtimes insufficiently covered. This dissertation addresses this gap by expanding memory analysis capabilities across two distinct paradigms: interpreted and compiled runtimes. The first phase targets the Python runtime, developing automated recovery techniques that enable several security applications. For malware detection, these techniques extract critical forensic artifacts such as encryption keys and command-and-control configurations. For …

Class-Aware Early-Exit Networks For Efficient And Secure Edge Deployment, Mohammed Ayyat

Theses and Dissertations

Edge devices increasingly run high-stakes machine learning workloads under strict latency, power, memory, and communication constraints. Deep neural networks provide the accuracy needed for tasks such as network intrusion detection, health monitoring, autonomous sensing, and human activity recognition, but conventional inference executes the same computational path for every input. Early-exit neural networks reduce average inference cost by allowing confident samples to terminate before the final layer. However, existing early-exit systems are largely class-agnostic: they allocate computation according to confidence or uncertainty, without considering that different output classes may carry different operational urgency. This dissertation develops class-aware early-exit inference, a framework …

Nanomagnet Based Reservoir Computing And Quantum Control, Fahim F. Chowdhury

Theses and Dissertations

Conventional CMOS scaling has driven remarkable advances in computing but faces increasing physical and energy constraints, motivating alternative computing paradigms that integrate memory and computation while improving energy efficiency. Nanoscale magnetic systems offer a promising platform for such approaches because their intrinsic nonlinear dynamics and localized magnetic fields can support both classical and quantum information processing. This thesis investigates nanomagnetic systems for physical reservoir computing and, with primary emphasis, for localized quantum control of spin qubits.

The first part explores dipole-coupled nanomagnet arrays as physical reservoirs. Micromagnetic simulations demonstrate nonlinear dynamical behavior with high short-term memory and parity-check capacity, enabling …

Integration Of Whole Genome Sequence And Rna-Sequencing Data For Disease-Specific Phenotype Prediction, Leiliani M. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease driven by complex genomic and transcriptomic alterations, making accurate phenotype prediction a challenging task. Recent advances in genomic foundation models and representation learning provide new opportunities to extract biologically meaningful features directly from sequencing data. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a multimodal framework integrating whole genome sequence (WGS) and RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) embeddings for breast cancer classification. DNABERT-2, a DNA foundation model, was evaluated for its ability to generate genomic representations from The Cancer Genome Atlas breast cancer (TCGA-BRCA) WGS data, and the impact of downstream fine-tuning on embedding …

Local Lung Delivery Of Ginkgetin For Therapeutic Intervention In Lung Fibrosis, Cimone L. Richardson

Theses and Dissertations

Lung fibrosis (LF) is a progressive, irreversible pathological condition in the lungs that is ultimately fatal. Current drug treatments (nintedanib, pirfenidone, and nerandomilast) slow disease progression but cause significant systemic adverse effects due to oral administration. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4), a mechanosensitive ion channel, may play a role in LF progression and represent a novel anti-LF target. Ginkgetin (GKT), a natural biflavonoid, is a potent TRPV4 inhibitor with anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties. Local lung delivery could achieve high local lung concentrations while minimizing systemic exposure. Accordingly, this project evaluates GKT's therapeutic intervention efficacy in LF via local lung …

Partisan Local Media And Corporate Voluntary Disclosures: Evidence From Sinclair Acquisitions, Ming Li

Theses and Dissertations

I investigate the impact of local media’s political orientation on firms’ voluntary disclosure, exploiting the acquisitions of local TV stations by Sinclair Broadcast Group, a conservative media conglomerate. Drawing on the media bias theory and implementing a staggered difference‐in‐differences design, I find that the local partisan media affects management earnings forecasts. Specifically, Conservative-leaning CEOs in designated market areas (DMAs) affected by Sinclair’s acquisitions forecast more optimistically, increasing forecast frequency and inflating forecasted earnings. The impact is stronger if the DMAs are more Liberal-leaning before the acquisitions and when firms have weaker corporate governance. I also find that the stock market …

Discrete Cell Signaling Differences Cause Female-Dominant Il-33 Responses In Mast Cells, Tania D. Maldonado

Theses and Dissertations

Many allergic diseases are more common and severe in women than in men. A key component of allergic inflammation is IL-33, a cytokine released by epithelial cells after allergen exposure. Because mast cells are a central early responder in allergic disease and are activated by IL-33, we investigated sex differences in mast cell responses to IL-33. We first found that male mast cells expanded poorly in standard RPMI-based culture media containing phenol red, which has estrogenic properties. Male cells also responded poorly to IL-33 when cultured with in media containing phenol red. In contrast, female mast cells expanded 3-fold less …

Climate, Biogeography, And Dispersal: A Unifying Framework For Ameri-Caribbean Dry Forests, Pablo Lopez Bustamante

Theses and Dissertations

Seed dispersal is a crucial ecological function that enables plants to alter their distributional range, avoid intense competition and natural enemies near the parent plant, and recover from disturbances. These processes shape species and functional composition of forests. Wind has traditionally been considered the dominant dispersal mechanism in Ameri-Caribbean dry forests, yet growing evidence suggests that other dispersal mechanisms also play significant roles in this ecosystem, responding differently to biotic and abiotic conditions. Still, how dispersal syndrome composition influences plant communities, the ecological drivers underlying these patterns, and the effects of climate change on dispersal syndrome dominance remain poorly understood. …

Managing Identity, Claiming Expertise, And Emotional Labor: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Of The Experience Of People With Serious Mental Illnesses In Primary Care, Jeffrey Ciak

Theses and Dissertations

People with serious mental illnesses (SMI) die 15 to 20 years before their peers without mental illness primarily due to chronic physical health conditions. Preventative care and treatment for chronic physical health conditions primarily occurs through primary care, but the experience of people with SMI in primary care is understudied. This constructivist grounded theory dissertation explored the experiences of people with SMI in primary care. Theoretical sampling resulted in 19 participants who were adults with SMI and long-term anti-psychotic use. Data was collected through one-to-two-hour long intensive interviews. The analytical process occurred concurrently with data collection. The abductive analytical process …

Sex In Plants: Birth, Death, And Trying To Survive In Changing Climates, Elena M. Meyer

Theses and Dissertations

Plant mating systems are key determinants of fitness. Angiosperms exhibit a wide variety of reproductive strategies, including self-fertilization (or selfing), outcrossing, and mixed mating. It has been estimated that up to 43% of plant species are capable of selfing, and selfing has been hypothesized to provide reproductive assurance where opportunities for mating may be limited, such as in marginal environments. However, questions regarding the overall distribution of selfing rates across angiosperms, the maintenance of mixed mating in the face of inbreeding depression, and the impact of self-fertilization on diversification rates remain incompletely resolved. Here, we explore the dynamics of self-fertilization …

Empirical Dynamical Modeling Of Cortico-Hippocampal Information Transfer During Memory Encoding, Sam Y. Cole

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding how brain dynamics support successful memory formation remains a central challenge in neuroscience. This dissertation applies tools from empirical dynamical systems theory to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying episodic encoding, with a focus on cortico-hippocampal interactions. Using stereoelectroencephalography (sEEG) data recorded during a delayed free recall of word lists task, this work reveals nonlinear, state-dependent shifts in directed information flow between cortex and hippocampus that distinguish successful from unsuccessful encoding. To further characterize these dynamics, state-space trajectories are reconstructed using time-delay embedding and recurrence-based methods, and features derived from these trajectories are used to classify memory outcomes. By integrating …

Real-Life Health Applications Of Wireless Sensing Using Edge Devices, Md Touhiduzzaman

Theses and Dissertations

Wireless sensing has emerged as a transformative paradigm that leverages ubiquitous radio-frequency signals for environmental perception and human activity recognition beyond their primary role in data communication. Unlike wearable sensors and camera-based systems, wireless sensing offers a non-intrusive, privacy-preserving, and cost-effective alternative that operates seamlessly under low-lighting conditions, through walls, and in non-line-of-sight (NLoS) scenarios. The growing availability of edge computing devices further enables real-time on-device data processing, making wireless sensing solutions highly suitable for in-home health monitoring and smart living applications. This dissertation investigates real-life health applications of wireless sensing through four completed systems, each addressing a distinct challenge …

Modeling Of Laser-Produced Plasma Plumes: Expansion, Chemistry, And Thin-Film Deposition, Edmund Tsiri Semaha, Edmund Tsiri Semaha

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Laser-assisted material processing involves coupled plasma expansion, chemical reactions, and particle transport that govern the quality of thin-film deposition. This dissertation presents a comprehensive computational investigation of these processes using the OpenFOAM framework. First, the performance of the twoPhaseEulerFoam (tPEF), rhoCentralFoam (rCF), and sonicFoam (sF) solvers is evaluated for modeling laser-produced plasma plume expansion under atmospheric conditions, demonstrating that tPEF accurately captures shock-wave propagation, hydrodynamic behavior, and multispecies interactions. Building on this validation, the reactingFoam (rF) solver is employed to investigate the chemistry of aluminum plasma expanding into an air environment (Al–N₂–O₂). The model incorporates appropriate thermodynamic, transport, and …

Positive Body Image In Postpartum Women: A Psychometric Evaluation Of The Body Appreciation Scale-2 And A Phenomenological Exploration, Taylor Vashro

Theses and Dissertations

Postpartum women appear particularly vulnerable to body dissatisfaction due to the rapid physiological, emotional, and environmental changes that occur across the perinatal experience (Baskin et al., 2021; Nippert et al., 2021). Recent studies have demonstrated the experience of both negative and positive body image during postpartum (Rodgers et al., 2024; Watson et al., 2016). However, there is limited research regarding the measurement and exploration of positive body image in postpartum women. The current study aimed to: 1) evaluate the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2), a widely used measure of positive body image in postpartum …

New Resource: Psyctests, Joanne Romano

TMC Library Newsletter (2015-)

APA PsycTESTS is now available through the TMC Library. Each record includes detailed test information, permissions for use, and—when available—full-text tests and supporting documentation.

Introducing Consensus Library, Joanne Romano

TMC Library Newsletter (2015-)

No abstract provided.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Holiday Hours, Beatriz Varman

TMC Library Newsletter (2015-)

No abstract provided.

Machine Learning Modeling Of In-Situ Effective Thermal Conductivities And Ablation Behaviors Of Ceramic Matrix Composites Under Hydrogen Combustion Environments For Gas Turbine Engines, Jayanta Bhusan Deb

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Through the integration of experimental characterization, machine learning, deep learning, numerical modeling, and physics-informed artificial intelligence, this dissertation explores the thermal performance of polymer-derived ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) for hydrogen combustion environments. The polymer infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP) process was used to create Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)-fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites, which were then experimentally assessed under hydrogen torch and hydrogen combustion conditions typical of next-generation gas turbine and aerospace propulsion systems. Front- and back-surface temperature measurements were used to continually monitor thermal reactions, and post-test microstructural characterization and numerical simulations were carried out to evaluate material integrity and heat-transfer behavior. To …