Digital Commons Network^™

Free Radical Reactions Of Electron Rich Alkenes, David A. May Jr

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Radical reactions have known for over a century but have only been thought of as useful synthetic strategies for the last 70 years. During this period, much work has been done to develop theoretical explanations for their reactivity and modes of termination, resulting in them becoming a fundamental type of organic reaction in academia and industry. Previous studies by the McIntosh group have shown that a radical [1,3]-Rearrangement occurs when N-substituted pyridines are heated. Here, the scope of this new reaction is expanded to include polycyclic pyridines including neocuproine (2,9-dimethylphenanthroline) and 2-methylquinoline while also expanding the range of reactions available …

Design And Optimization Of High-Frequency Medium-Voltage Dual Active Bridge Dc/Dc Converter Using Sic Device, Hui Cao

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

High frequency Dual Active Bridge (DAB) converters have become a key enabling technology in medium- and high-power applications such as renewable energy integration, electric vehicle fast charging, and emerging DC power distribution systems. However, when operating at high power and high frequency, DAB converters face critical challenges including limited soft-switching range, uneven semiconductor loss distribution, deadtime-induced resonance, switching-frequency constraints of wide-bandgap (WBG) devices, and transformer DC bias during dynamic transitions. This dissertation addresses these challenges through advancements in modulation strategies and converter architecture. First, an enhanced triple-phase-shift (E-TPS) modulation scheme is proposed to achieve balanced switching and conduction losses across …

Elucidating Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying Depression-Related Differences In Executive Control Under Stress, Benjamin Swanson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Executive control under stress has been shown to be a robust predictor of psychopathology, especially Major Depressive Disorder (i.e., depression). However, the underlying neural mechanisms that might explain this association have not been examined. To address this gap, both controls (n = 30) and individuals with current or past depression (n = 30) completed a modified Stroop task under fMRI. Behaviorally, we assessed both participants’ executive control performance and their subjective affect during the task. At the neural level, we examined brain regions related to both executive-related control (e.g., DLPFC) and executive-related affective processes (e.g., amygdala, striatum), as well as …

Emotion Analysis And Neural Language Models For Classification, Andrew Mackey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Emotion analysis is a branch of artificial intelligence and natural language processing focused on recognizing emotions hidden throughout various forms of digital data, including text, images, and multi-modal representations. In this dissertation, we present four published and planned works that investigate different methodologies for natural language analysis tasks using deep learning techniques. The first published work we present considers the task of identifying fake news using various text and emotion representations. We demonstrate that emotion representations combined with word embedding techniques can improve the accuracy of fake news classification. Our second published work further investigates the fake news classification task …

Design And Development Of A Multi-Port Solid State Circuit Breaker Based On Half Bridge Sic Mosfets, Yannal Nawafleh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates multi-port solid-state circuit breaker (M-SSCB) architectures that reduce steady-state conduction losses while preserving microsecond-class DC fault interruption and per-port selectivity. The proposed M-SSCB consolidates protection for several node interfaces into a single assembly with shared sensing, control, and a common energy-absorption branch. In normal operation, two electrically symmetric parallel semiconductor paths are established so each port’s current divides approximately in half; because conduction loss scales with current squared, the M-SSCB achieves ≈75% reduction in on-state loss relative to a conventional anti-series SiC path without increasing device count. During fault handling, the coordinated controller detects the local over-current, …

Automation And Upgrading Of Custom Cold Wall Uhv-Cvd Reactor For Group Iv Material Development, Alexander Golden

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Group IV alloys have shown promising results for infrared optoelectronic applications where III-V materials are currently dominant. The III-V material system has vacancies that Group IV materials can fill, most importantly complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process compatibility making quality devices much cheaper and widely available compared to the current state of the art. Silicon, being an indirect band gap Group IV material, has poor performance in optoelectronic applications but is the dominant material for most of the electronic industry. However, when silicon is alloyed or substituted with other group IV materials, these optoelectronic properties can be enhanced and, in …

Study And Simulation Of Model-Reference Adaptive Control Via The Heffron-Philips Model For Enhanced Power System Stability, Laila Ayman Dallol

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Improving power transmission and quality has been an area of research interest over the past decades and was improved using renewable energy resources, mainly wind, and solar generation. Renewable energy penetration into power grids aims to replace some traditional synchronous generators, affecting the overall power system with reduced gas emissions that help with climate change and pollution issues. However, renewable generation in power systems ranging from microgrids to national grids is subjected to large disturbances that affect its transient stability, which is measured by its critical clearing time. As increased amounts of renewable generation connected to power systems have resulted …

Unraveling Nucleation Mechanisms In Membrane Distillation: A Molecular Dynamics And Enhanced Sampling Approach, Nazanin Abbasi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Membrane distillation offers a promising route for desalination but remains limited by salt scaling, where mineral crystals nucleate and grow in concentrated brines. To inform strategies that mitigate scaling, this thesis investigates homogeneous nucleation in supersaturated aqueous NaCl solutions using molecular dynamics and enhanced sampling techniques. Several collective variables (CVs) are tested to capture the early stages of ion aggregation and crystal formation, including ion–ion coordination number, dehydration, and bond orientational order parameters Q₄ and Q₆. Enhanced sampling techniques, such as metadynamics and umbrella sampling, are employed to overcome the high free energy barriers associated with the formation of critical …

Multiple Aspects Of Environmental Temperature Have Complex Interactions With Avian Parental Behavior To Influence Offspring Outcomes, William H. Kirkpatrick

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anthropogenic climate change is projected to shift not only average temperatures across the globe, but also the amount of thermal variation experienced in the natural environment. Exposure to shifts in averages and a wider range of thermal experiences will cause shifts in wildlife behavior. In avian species, behaviors exhibited during reproduction have implications for the well-being of their offspring. Here, I explore specific incubation behaviors in four species: Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata), Northern Bobwhite Quail (Colinus virginianus), Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), and Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis). I examined constancy, or the percentage of time on the nest, and off-bout duration, …

Using Color And Fluorescent Spectrometry As A New Rapid Cleaning Verification Method In Poultry Processing Plants, Clark Griscom

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The poultry industry is expected to be growing at 3% in the total global market with the U.S. being the largest producer of poultry meat. Poultry processing plants are expected to produce 140 birds per minute with the potential of up to 175 birds per minute to meet the market demand. With the growing market and need for faster production, maintaining food safety needs to be a priority to ensure the safety of consumers. Over 9.9 million foodborne illness cases are reported each year in the United States. A change in food safety is needed, and one area lacking is …

Volume Status Detection With Integral Pulse Frequency Modulation Model Of Peripheral Venous Pressure, Jeremiah Rhys Wimer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the effectiveness of utilizing a modified integral pulse frequency modulation (IPFM) algorithm to synthesize peripheral venous pressure (PVP) waveforms for the detection of several physiological conditions using logistic regression. PVP waveforms are collected from 18 human patients and 4 porcine subjects. Human data are used to train models for determining the hypovolemic status of the patient, while the porcine data are used to train models for determining level of anesthesia and detecting internal hemorrhaging. In the human dataset, the waveforms collected from the 18 patients are classified into two groups according to serum chloride levels: resuscitated (≥100 …

Next-Generation Salmonella Inactivated Vaccine Platforms And Phytobiotic-Modulated Immune Responses In Poultry, Santiago Uribe Diaz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Here, a comprehensive understanding of immune responses triggered by either a multimeric CD40 receptor-agonistic DNA aptamer-based or mannosylated chitosan-based Salmonella Enteritidis inactivated vaccine platforms, along with phytobiotic supplementation as an immune modulatory strategy in response to Salmonella lipopolysaccharides, is presented. This dissertation supports the development of next-generation Salmonella vaccine platforms that simultaneously stimulate both protective cell-mediated and humoral immune responses, while indicating the potential immunomodulatory effects of phytobiotics supplementation to reduce the immunological impact of Salmonella lipopolysaccharides in chickens. The first chapter describes that both vaccine platforms administered in broiler chickens initiated local inflammatory responses, recruiting heterophils and macrophages from …

Social Support And Depression In Latinx Youth: A Meta-Analysis, Dulce Diaz Benitez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although previous meta-analyses have found significant relationships between social support and youth outcomes, neither has included ethnicity as a moderator or even described the ethnic breakdown in the studies analyzed (Chu et al., 2010; Rueger et al., 2016). Studies that have looked at the relationship between social support and outcomes in Latinx youth have found mixed findings. This study examined the relationship between social support and depression in Latinx youth living in the United States. This study also explored differences in the strength of the relationship between social support and depression in several previously studied moderators (function of social support, …

Near-Infrared-Spectroscopy-Derived Oxygen Desaturation Rates During Post-Exercise Circulatory Occlusion As Predictors Of Cardiorespiratory Fitness Markers, Carstell Lee

Honors Theses

Cardiorespiratory fitness, measured as maximal oxygen consumption (VO₂max) is a critical predictor of all-cause mortality and overall cardiovascular health. Metabolic carts are the current gold standard for evaluation of VO₂max, but are inaccessible to most facilities and individuals, and are expensive ($20,000+). Near-Infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has emerged as an accessible and affordable ($5,000-$10,000) alternative for evaluating skeletal muscle oxygenation kinetics and mitochondrial oxidative capacity. However, there is limited research in examining whether NIRS-derived oxygen desaturation rates can be a predictor of cardiorespiratory fitness markers (such as VO₂max and peak power output [PPO]), and whether these measurements show a superior predictive …

Neural Rrp6 Depletion Drives Circrna Accumulation And Motor Impairment In Drosophila Melanogaster Neurons, Joseph Serio

Honors Theses

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of ubiquitous eukaryotic RNAs created by back splicing. These noncoding RNAs can modulate gene expression and are implicated in aging and neurodegenerative diseases. To limit the contribution of circRNAs to aging and pathobiology, it is essential to understand how turnover of these molecules is regulated, as it is not clear which enzymes are chiefly responsible for degrading circRNAs in neurons. This study evaluates the roles of ribonucleases potentially involved in neural circRNA turnover using the model fly Drosophila melanogaster. A mifepristone-activated GAL4/UAS GeneSwitch expressed RNAi transgenes and inactivated the ribonucleases. Flies were evaluated on …

A Story Of Life Through Death: An Osteobiography Of Two Individuals From The Late Saxon Period, Isabella Ragazzi

Honors Theses

The Anglo-Saxons were the most influential inhabitants of the British Isles in the years AD 450-1066, reigning during a time marked by much warfare, pestilence, and famine. Their impact on British history is still seen through archival materials as well as the archeological and bioarchaeological records. A recent development in the field of bioarchaeology is the osteobiography, which places skeletal analysis in context of the overall culture to create the most complete interpretation of the individual and their life history. Involving both traditional bioarchaeological evaluation and isotopic analysis, this method was applied to two Anglo-Saxon skulls donated to the University …

An Assessment Of The Relationship Between Stress And Glucose Levels In Medical Laboratory Science Students, Jayla Edwards

Honors Theses

Stress is prevalent among college students. Prolonged, unmanaged stress can affect physiological processes such as glucose metabolism. This study aimed to examine the effects of stress on glucose levels of medical laboratory science (MLS) students at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). To achieve this, the participants’ perceived stress levels and glucose levels were measured at the beginning of the semester and during finals week, a period when college students typically experience the most stress. There were nineteen MLS students that participated. Data was collected at two phases: phase 1 at the beginning of the semester and phase 2 during …

Beyond The Classroom: The Role Of Cultural Capital In College-To-Career Transitions, Keynijah Sullivan

Honors Theses

For many college students, the transition into the workforce is shaped not only by academic knowledge, but also by access to less visible resources, often referred to as cultural capital. Research has been done in the past that discusses how cultural capital is transferred through families, its role in academic settings, and its impact on employability. However, there is a gap in research focusing on the role of cultural capital in college-to-career transitions. This study uses qualitative methods, specifically semi-structured interviews with junior and senior undergraduates at the University of Southern Mississippi. The purpose of this study is to better …

Learning-Based Strategic Monitoring In Prospective Memory, Madeline R. Valdez

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Existing research shows that individuals monitor for prospective memory (PM) targets strategically by heightening monitoring in relevant contexts where PM targets are likely to occur, and relaxing monitoring in irrelevant contexts where PM targets are unlikely to occur. To date, the study of strategic monitoring has been done in paradigms in which participants receive explicit contextual information to help guide their monitoring. Extending this work, the present study aimed to investigate whether individuals can strategically monitor based on a learned contextual cue, a process termed learning-based strategic monitoring. Using cost to ongoing, lexical decision task (LDT) performance as a metric …

Influence Of Produced Water Runoff On Surface Water: A Statistical Analysis Of Water Quality In Petronilla Creek, Joshua Sierra

Water Resources Science and Technology Theses and Graduate Research Reports (Archived)

This case study research investigates the potential influence of produced water (PW), a byproduct of oil and gas (O&G) activities, on surface water quality. The study involved two sites along Petronila creek, located in Nueces County, with historical oil and gas presence. Data from nearby monitoring stations containing various water quality parameters typically associated with produced water, including total dissolved solids (TDS), chloride (Cl), sulfate (SO4), and specific conductance was used to perform a statistical analysis of spatial and temporal trends. Spatial comparisons were made between both sites and upstream, tributary, and downstream roles to test for variances in water …

Dolphins ‘Orient-Against-Current’: Foraging In Dredged Channels, Eliza M.M. Mills, Sarah Piwetz, Dara N. Orbach

Marine Science

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.) are opportunistic foragers with global distributions that utilize diverse feeding tactics based on environmental factors, habitat features, prey behavior, group dynamics, and genetics. We describe a unique foraging tactic regularly observed in the confluence of dredged shipping channels with high anthropogenic disturbance, and explore potential abiotic (temporal, tidal, habitat) drivers of the behavior. A shore-based digital theodolite was used from 2021 to 2022 to observe common bottlenose dolphins (T. truncatus) foraging within a current in a technique we term Orient-Against-Current (OAC). During OAC, dolphins position themselves facing into the flow of a current, swimming at a …

Fisheries Research Report No. 363 : South-West Freshwater Angling: Estimates Of Participation, Effort And Catch For 2024/25, Claire B. Smallwood, Karina L. Ryan, Eva Lai

Fisheries Research Reports

South-West Freshwater Angling (SWFA) in Western Australia is a licensed fishery primarily targeting the Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) and Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), which are stocked in selected dams and rivers, as well as the introduced Redfin Perch (Perca fluviatilis) and the native Freshwater Cobbler (Tandanus bostocki). Since 2000/01, annual phone-recall surveys have been undertaken using the SWFA licence database as the sampling frame. This monitoring provides information to understand the fishery and support future management decisions. For the first time, data are reported by basin for different waterbody types (public dams, rivers) as well as for specific key fishing …

June 30, 2023: Resurrections And Bad Omens Of A Nadir Court, Zamir Ben-Dan

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

June 29, 2023 was monumental for racial justice advocates and scholars; the U.S. Supreme Court issued a major decision that eviscerated affirmative action while declaring itself a vanguard of racial equality. The Court’s race-related juridical activities on the following day, June 30th, received far less attention. On June 30, 2023, the Court denied certiorari in five cases directly implicating race. Those denials of certiorari generated five opinions, two concurring in the denial and three dissenting from denial. These five opinions should have created as much buzz as the Court’s affirmative action decision the day prior; examined together, they tell a …

The Role Of Procedural Due Process In Equal Protection And Affirmative Action Analysis: The Narrowly Tailored Prong, Simona Grossi

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

The Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College marked the end of affirmative action as traditionally practiced in higher education admissions, forcing universities to seek alternative legal pathways for fostering diversity. At the same time, the Trump administration’s executive orders targeting DEI initiatives have exacerbated the legal uncertainty, raising critical questions about how institutions can preserve fairness in admissions while withstanding both judicial and political scrutiny.

This article argues that Procedural Due Process—when read in conjunction with Equal Protection—provides a constitutionally sound and structurally fair framework for admissions policies that align with strict scrutiny while preserving …

Mechanisms Of Underwater Treadmill Walking In Persons With Brain Injury (Stroke And Cerebral Palsy), Oluwaseye Paul Odanye

Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

People with brain injuries, like stroke, and children experiencing cerebral palsy (CP), tend to experience gait alterations and walking impairments due to injuries to regions of their brains. These impairments negatively affect the ability of affected individuals to function appropriately within their communities, necessitating task-specific gait training, such as underwater treadmill (UT) walking. UT walking is an intervention that leverages the buoyancy and hydrodynamic drag characteristics of water to the advantage of its users. Currently, there is no established baseline principle for applying UT walking mechanisms for rehabilitation.

This dissertation focused on investigating the mechanisms for UT use in persons …

Southern / Appalachian Migrants And Urban Development Politics In Uptown Chicago, 1950-1972, Charles Wayne Dowdy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates how ideas of interregional migration were used in service of urban renewal agendas in Uptown Chicago from 1950 to 1972. It argues that The South and Appalachia as regional ideas were impactful in postwar midwestern urban development politics, even as regional identity was less powerful as an adhering force for actual migrants in comparison with factors of race and class. Chapter 1 examines the development and use of the urban enclave model of interregional migration by the Uptown Chicago Commission in the late 1950s. It argues that anxieties around suburbanization and urban decline fueled the production of …

Knowing One's Place At The Table: Taste As A Means Of Othering In The American Colonies, 1700-1775, Nicholas Harp

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

This thesis began as an inquiry into a simple question. How did people in the American colonies talk about the food that they ate? This question led to a fascinating look into the social dynamics of the people living in eighteenth century America. Their own personal writings demonstrate how they understood their place in society through the food that they ate. Moreover, they often wrote about the way that other people ate in ways that alienated or discriminated against different ethnic groups. A look into the secondary historiography revealed that other historians had noticed this trend. However, very few addressed …

The Relationship Between Exercise And Prospective Memory: A Meta-Analysis, Shaykhah Salman Alqahtani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prospective memory (PM)—the ability to remember and carry out future intentions—is essential for everyday functioning. This cognitive process involves intention formation, retention, cue detection, and execution. Emerging research suggests that physical exercise may influence prospective memory performance through potential enhancements in attention, executive functioning, and neuroplasticity. This thesis examines the relationship between physical exercise and prospective memory through a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing literature.

This review synthesized evidence from experimental studies to evaluate the effects of acute and chronic exercise interventions on prospective memory in diverse populations. Six studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in …

Racial And Ethnic Differences In The Associations Between Alcohol Use Disorder, Aggression, And Suicidality Among Adolescents With Ptsd, Gabrielle Armstrong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The comorbidity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) is well documented and associated with elevated risk of aggression and suicidality among certain populations. However, no research to date has examined these associations among adolescents. Using data from the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A), the present study examined whether the presence of AUD was associated with greater outward aggression, suicidal ideation, and attempts, and whether these associations differed across race/ethnicity, in a weighted sample of 737,996 adolescents with PTSD (10.3% Hispanic, 16.4% Black, 73.3% White). AUD presence was significantly associated with higher odds of breaking items, attacking …

The Impact Of State-Mandated High-Stakes Standardized Testing On The Job Satisfaction Of Third-Grade Reading Teachers In Mississippi, Jenny Kate Ernst

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined how state-mandated standardized testing influences the job satisfaction of current and former third-grade reading teachers in Mississippi. Guided by Self-Determination Theory, Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory, and the Job Demands-Resources Model, the research explored how accountability pressures shape teachers’ motivation, emotional well-being, and instructional autonomy. Data were collected through an open-ended online survey of current and former Mississippi third-grade reading teachers. Analysis of responses revealed four central themes: emotional strain and burnout, loss of autonomy and creativity, impact on instructional practices, and student impact. Findings indicated that teachers perceive standardized testing as a major source of stress that …