Digital Commons Network^™

A Study Of Directionality Effects In Three-Beam Coaxial Titanium Wire-Based Laser Metal Deposition, Remy Mathenia, Braden Mclain, Todd Sparks, Frank Liou

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Coaxial wire-based laser metal deposition is a versatile and efficient additive process that can achieve a high deposition rate in the manufacturing of complex structures. In this paper, a three-beam coaxial wire system is studied, with particular attention given to the effects of the deposition direction and laser beam orientation on the resulting bead geometry symmetry. With the three-beam laser delivery, the laser spot pattern is not always symmetric with respect to the deposition direction. Single titanium beads are deposited in different directions and at varying deposition rates, and the bead profile is quantitatively scored for multiple symmetry measures. Through …

The Ecological Applications Of Δ17O: Validating A Novel Technique For Assessing Animal Metabolism And Water Intake, Zachary Taylor Steele

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Animals obtain water via different processes such as drinking, consuming food, and through metabolic processes like at the end of the electron transport chain when atmospheric oxygen is combined with hydrogen to form ‘cytochrome oxidase water’. Assessing animal water flux and metabolism has mainly been conducted via stable isotope analysis (SIA) of biological samples using hydrogen (²H) and oxygen isotopes (¹⁶O, ¹⁷O, and ¹⁸O; Δ¹⁷O), typically using enriched isotope tracers. However, natural abundance isotope modeling offers an approach for conducting SIA of biological samples that differs because it relies on the unique, …

Explainable Artificial Intelligence: Methods And Evaluation, Gayane Grigoryan

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A wide array of techniques within explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) have been developed to measure the importance of features in machine learning models. A notable portion of these methods draws upon principles of cooperative game theory (CGT), with the Shapley value emerging as a widely used solution concept. Despite the rising prominence of the Shapley value, other promising solutions from cooperative game theory—such as the Nucleolus, Banzhaf power index, Shapley-Shubik power index, and solutions to conflicting claims problems—have been comparatively overlooked, even though they hold significant potential. In this dissertation, multiple XAI methods based on these other CGT solutions are …

Development Of A Conceptual Framework For Complex System Governance (Csg) Performance Measurement, James Hartwell Rutherford

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Within the Complex System Governance (CSG) paradigm, system performance is regulated by nine metasystem governance functions, which provide control, communication, coordination, and integration. However, CSG has lacked a fully developed model or language to richly articulate system performance at a conceptual level. The purpose of this research was to develop a systems theory-based conceptual framework to measure the performance of CSG metasystem governance using an inductive research design.

Although ‘good performance’ may seem like an obvious idea, the current literature on performance measurement across many disciplines and contexts contains vastly inconsistent uses of the word ‘performance.’ Both researchers and practitioners …

Harnessing Social Media For Disaster Response: Intelligent Identification Of Reliable Rescue Requests During Hurricanes, Wael Khallouli

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Hurricanes pose a significant threat to both human lives and infrastructure. Decision-makers face substantial challenges during such events, as they must act quickly to address victims’ needs. Social media platforms provide a valuable source for quick and real-time information. Recent hurricane events have shown that people turn to social media to call for help when official communication channels, such as 911, are overwhelmed. However, extracting actionable information from the massive number of messages posted on social media is challenging. Furthermore, verifying social media messages posted by the public is a critical concern for disaster response practitioners, making them hesitant to …

Zero Dynamics Attacks On Unknown Bilinear Systems: Vulnerability And Detection, Mohammad Aminul Haq

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Critical infrastructure requires a safe and secure operating environment because of its significant impact on society. Its large-scale size and distributed sensors and actuators make it vulnerable to cyber-physical attacks. A zero dynamics attack is a type of cyber-physical attack where an adversary keeps the output of the target constant (classically zero), while forcing some of the internal states to deviate from their nominal values. Most of the existing work in the literature assumes the system dynamics are linear and available to an adversary. The first goal of this dissertation is to show that an adversary can successfully execute a …

Privacy-Preserving Deep Learning Framework For Iot Malware Detection, Sabbir Ahmed Khan

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Cyberattacks on IoT devices are accelerating at an unprecedented rate, largely driven by IoT malware activities. The IoT malware attacks typically comprise three stages: intrusion, infection, and monetization. Existing IoT malware detection methods fail to identify malicious activities at the intrusion and infection stages and thus cannot stop potential attacks timely. In our research, we have leveraged power side-channel information as input to our deep learning model to identify malware at early stages of intrusion on IoT devices. But, deploying a resource-intensive deep learning model on highly resource-constrained IoT devices is a significant challenge. Consequently, utilizing a Machine Learning as …

Associations Between Combat Exposure, Moral Injury, And Suicidality Among U.S. Military Members: The Moderating Impact Of Positive Rumination, Jeffrey M. Gabelmann

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Numerous studies have documented the risk for suicide among recent-era veterans with combat experience. Recently, moral injury has emerged as a possible contributor to suicidality in veterans. To that end, no study has approached the combat exposure-moral injury-suicidality link with a focus grounded in positive psychology. Specifically, the present study explored whether positive rumination, or the reflection on positive emotions and moods, may buffer the deleterious effects of potentially traumatic experiences in warzones on moral injury and suicidality. This study was a secondary analysis of 250 current or former U.S. military members (M_age = 33.3 years) who had …

Examining Enrollment & Engagement In A Hospital-Based Violence Prevention Intervention Study At A Level 1 Trauma Center, Leigh Frederick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

BACKGROUND: Violence is a significant healthcare issue that affects the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. Violence prevention and intervention programs are a powerful way to stop the revolving door of violent injury in our hospitals and communities. The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI), develops and connects violence intervention programs, promotes equity for victims of violence globally, and is dedicated to engaging patients during the window of opportunity when they are recovering in the hospital after a violent injury to reduce the chance of retaliation (related to the injury) and recurrence. A small body of research shows …

Anther: Cross-Pollinating Communities Of Practice Via Video Tutorials, Adam G. Emerson, Shreyosi Endow, Cesar Torres

Association of Computing Machinery Open Access Agreement Publications-Archive

Communities of practice (CoPs) play a crucial role in cross-pollination and learning within various skill-based and craft domains. These communities often share common materials, concepts, and techniques across related practices. However, due to their insular nature, exchanging knowledge between CoPs has been challenging, leading to fragmented knowledge marked by difering vocabularies and contexts. To address this issue, we introduce Anther, a system designed to highlight shared concepts and semantic overlap between distinct CoPs. Anther projects concepts onto a 2-dimensional space, providing users with comprehensive, contextual, and conceptual views. We conducted a user study, demonstrating Anther’s efectiveness in aggregating and disseminating …

Geo-Slam: Using Geometric Hierarchies To Support Localization And Mapping In Forest Environments, Daniel Castellarin

Theses

Robust mapping and localization can be challenging in environments like forests where easily observable landmarks are virtually indistinguishable from each other. In such environments, GPS or robot odometry may also be compromised by the landscape, tree cover, or method of locomotion. Prior work discussed a method for creating geometric hierarchies to describe the relative positions of unlabeled landmarks. Notably, the polygons from these hierarchies were used to perform accurate place recognition from observations containing partial overlap and sensor noise. Here, we use geometric hierarchies to perform robust data association for collections of virtually identical 2D landmarks in direct support of …

Digital Transformation Of The Accounting And Audit Industry In Kosovo, Lis Musa

Theses

This capstone project analyzes how Kosovo's audit and accounting industry is being affected by digital transformation. Its aim is to explore how digitalization affects skills gaps, job accuracy, company costs, and productivity in different sectors at a time when technological breakthroughs are drastically changing industry. Professionals from Big 10 accounting and audit firms as well as a local Kosovo accounting business were interviewed to gather insights on the potential and difficulties brought about by digital tools and technologies. Research findings show that digital transformation is considerably bridging the skills gap in the industry, imposing constant professional development and adjustment to …

A New Diagnostic Method For Distinguishing Binary From Single Supermassive Black Holes Using Broad Emission Lines, Ziming Ji

Theses

During cosmic timescales, supermassive binary black holes (SMBBHs) form by galaxy mergers, where each galaxy hosts a supermassive black hole (SMBH) at its center. By studying SMBBHs, we can gain insights into galaxy evolution and black hole growth. However, the typical separation between black holes in SMBBHs is usually below 1 pc, making them difficult to resolve using direct imaging or photometry. To be able to distinguish binary black holes (BBHs) from typical AGN powered by single black holes (SBHs), we conducted this research project to develop a new diagnostic method to identify a unique feature of SMBBHs, which can …

The Effect Of Angiogenesis On Thermal Properties Of In-Vivo Human Tissue, Shriya Musuku

Theses

Bioheat transfer is the study of heat transfer in biology. There are several sources of heat in biology including external ones such as surgical applications of heat, or internal ones like cancer tissue. Blood flow networks affect both types of processes and are often generated during disease phenomenon through a process called angiogenesis. This affects the properties of the tissue. Several attempts were made to model flow and heat transfer within various tissues through physical measurements or computer simulations. Both types of models used bioheat transfer models do not consider the geometry of vasculature at its most fundamental level. The …

Simulation Of A Single Photon Counting Photonic Spectrograph For Direct Imaging Of Exoplanet Atmospheres With The Habitable Worlds Observatory, Edwin Alexani

Theses

NASA’s highest-priority future flagship astrophysics mission is a large infrared/optical/ultraviolet (IR/O/UV) telescope, the first in a series of new Great Observatories recommended by the 2020 Decadal Survey. The current concept for this telescope is the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), drawing on past design projects such as LUVOIR and HabEx. A key goal for HWO is to identify habitable exoplanets. The HWO will obtain spectra and direct images of distant, dim worlds, necessitating highly sensitive instruments. The HWO will require a coronagraph that achieves a 10^−10 contrast ratio to suppress the starlight and reveal terrestrial exoplanets. The detector’s dark current and …

A Spectroscopic Search For Recoiling Supermassive Black Holes In Nearby Active Galaxies, Emily Temple

Theses

It is hypothesized that following a galaxy merger the two central supermassive black holes (SMBH) become a binary system, eventually coalescing due to emission of gravitational waves. This coalescence results in a single black hole, with an accretion disk shining with high luminosity that photoionizes the surrounding gas. Therefore, the newly merged SMBH is visible as an active galactic nucleus (AGN). However, the gravitational waves are emitted anisotropically by the binary as it inspirals, resulting in a recoil kick. This ejects the newly merged SMBH from the AGN’s center of the galaxy. The SMBH oscillates around the galaxy’s center of …

Depressive Symptoms Are Associated With C-Reactive Protein In Older Adults With Obesity, Henry D Heisey, Clifford Qualls, Dennis T Villareal, Martha Belen Segoviano-Escobar, Maria Liza Duremdes Nava, Jennifer R Gatchel, Mark E Kunik

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: To test the hypothesis that depressive symptoms vary with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), among older adults with obesity.

METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, secondary analysis of baseline data from two related lifestyle intervention trials. The study sample comprises 148 consecutively recruited, community-dwelling older adults (age >=65 years) without severe psychiatric illness and with body mass index >=30 kg/m

RESULTS: Sample mean GDS score was 2.7 (SD 3.0, range 0 - 14). A significant multivariate model of GDS scores (R

CONCLUSIONS: In older adults with obese BMI, male sex and higher hs-CRP are associated with depression, even in a group …

Assessing The Knowledge And Awareness Of Us Oncologists Regarding The Specialty Of Oral Medicine, Alessandro Villa

All Publications

Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the awareness among United States (US) oncologists about oral medicine (OM) as a specialty of dentistry, and their collaboration with OM providers.

Methods: An online survey was conducted, inviting 1350 US oncologists, with data collected on demographics, practice background, comfort level with diagnosing and treating oral conditions, referral practices for oral conditions, and more.

Results: Of the invited 1350 oncologists, 192 responded (14% response rate). Among respondents, 46% were familiar with the OM specialty. Of these, 73% had previously sought consultation from OM specialists. The primary reasons for referral included dental clearance before …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Cobalt-Based Complexes And Metal-Organic Frameworks For Hydrogen Evolution Catalysis Under Acidic Conditions, Elizabeth A. Tonsel-White

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

The synthesis of two cobalt(II) complexes: the novel complex [Co(phen)₃]₂[Co(pytc)₂]•16.25H₂O 1 and the previously reported [Co(bpy)₃](OH)₂•7H₂O 2, along with a cobalt(II/III)-containing MOF, Co-PPF2, previously reported as well, was achieved. These complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, X-ray crystallography, microscopy, conductivity measurements, TGA, SEM, CV , and UV-visible , and FTIR spectroscopies. From the CV scan rates, diffusion coefficients for complexes 1 and 2 were determined to be 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ cm² s⁻¹ and 4.8 × 10⁻⁷ cm² s⁻¹. Electrocatalytic studies with complexes 1 and 2 revealed insights into the mechanistic aspects of …

Use Of Ultrasound For Identification Of Musculoskeletal Injury In Active Populations, Kathleen Karen Hogan

Rehabilitation Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Lower extremity tendinopathies and fasciopathy conditions are prevalent amongst sedentary individuals,^1,2 athletes,^3,4 elite runners,^5,6and military personnel⁷ and can lead to chronic disability and reduction in quality of life. ^8,9 Both tendinopathy and fasciopathy are thought to be mechanical in nature and caused by acute or chronic overloading leading to a disruption in the uniformity of the soft tissue structure. Ultrasound imaging has gained popularity in the last decade among many sports medicine clinicians to gain information regarding tissue structure for musculoskeletal injury (MKSI) management. Ultrasound imaging allows for the evaluation of in-vivo structures and at …

Prevalence Of Sexuality Implicit Bias In Entry-Level Dental Hygiene Students – A Pilot Study, Monica Mercedez Drew

Dental Hygiene Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: Bias and discrimination may create barriers and affect the delivery of culturally competent care to sexual minorities. An awareness of biases early in education may promote equitable care and increase the quality of oral healthcare delivered to diverse populations. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of sexuality-implicit attitudes in entry-level dental hygiene students at one university. Methods: This cross-sectional study included a convenience sample of junior and senior dental hygiene students (n=74) and was determined exempt by a university Health Sciences Human Subjects Review Committee (2151633-2). The Implicit Associations Test (IAT) is a validated tool …

Who Wrote The Scientific News? Improving The Discernibility Of Llms To Human-Written Scientific News, Dominik Soós

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Large Language Models (LLMs) have rapidly advanced the field of Natural Language Processing and become powerful tools for generating and evaluating scientific text. Although LLMs have demonstrated promising as evaluators for certain text generation tasks, there is still a gap until they are used as reliable text evaluators for general purposes. In this thesis project, I attempted to fill this gap by examining the discernibility of LLMs from human-written and LLM-generated scientific news. This research demonstrated that although it was relatively straightforward for humans to discern scientific news written by humans from scientific news generated by GPT-3.5 using basic prompts, …

Effects Of Ordered Eating On Various Postprandial Measures, Brian K. Ferguson

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Postprandial glucose (PPG) is an indicator of acute and chronic overall health, and aberrations in glucose, insulin, and other postprandial (PP) markers are common in obesity and cardiometabolic disorders. Chronically elevated glucose can lead to a number of health problems such as type 2 diabetes mellitus. Additionally, PPG responses can impact substrate utilization responses to exercise, which may have implications for both healthy and diseased populations. One potentially simple lifestyle modification to alter PPG and related markers is to change the order in which foods are consumed within meals. The purpose of this dissertation was to further explore the impact …

A Kinematic Analysis Of The Shoulder During The Volleyball Attack Using Euler And Helical Axis Methods, Victoria Jolliff

Biomedical Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The shoulder is a complex joint with a wide range of motion, including flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, and internal and external rotation. In volleyball, repetitive overhand movements can cause shoulder overuse injuries. The primary offensive move, the attack, involves the approach, arm cocking, arm acceleration, and follow-through phases. Motion capture analysis and techniques like calculating Euler angles and rotation about a mean helical axis can evaluate shoulder movements. This study aimed to calculate shoulder movements during each phase of the volleyball attack using the Euler angle YXY sequence and the helical axis method. Different attack types, such as cross-court and …

A Criminological Analysis Of The “White Supremacy To Anti-Immigrant Violence Pathway”, Ida Oesteraas

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

White supremacy consists of intricate ideologies, systems, privileges, and personal beliefs that result in unequal outcomes based on race in various aspects of life, such as wealth, freedom, health, and happiness (Belew & Gutiérrez, 2021). This dissertation explores the manifestation of white supremacy across various societal levels and its consequent harm and violence against people of color, immigrants, and particularly immigrants of color from Latin America. Here, I coin the term “white supremacy to anti-immigrant violence pathway” to examine how white supremacy has intertwined with our institutions and society, demonstrating how the exclusion and policing of immigrants of color sustain …

On Weighted Sequence Spaces, Gilbert D. Acheampong

Mathematics & Statistics Theses & Dissertations

The space ℓ^p,α of complex sequences a = (a₀,a₁,a₂, . . .) for which

∞

∥a∥p,α = ( Σ|ak|^p(k+1)^α)^1/p < ∞

k=0

is studied. Each such sequence can be identified with the analytic function with power series

∞

f (z) = ∑ akz^k.

k=0

In this setting, the point evaluation and the difference quotient mappings are shown to be bounded; the cases are identified in which ℓ^p,α is boundedly contained in ℓ^r,β . …

Crisis In The Coalfields: State/Corporate Violence, Historical Trauma, & Concentrated Substance Misuse And Harm, Brooke Baker

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

What we frame as "the problem" in our society shapes our responses, which also shapes how and where we spend our resources. The prevailing narratives surrounding drug issues in rural coalfields, West Virginia, the Appalachian region, and arguably throughout the U.S. often mischaracterize the problem. This research explored the relationship between state/corporate violence, historical trauma, and concentrated substance misuse and harm in the rural, central Appalachian coalfields. This study employs a trauma-informed, critical ethnographic approach by utilizing participant observation and photo-elicitation interviewing to collect the data, and a critical qualitative framework to analyze it. The main findings of this research …

What's The Cost?: A Phenomenological Study Of Black Male Teachers' Persistence, Kendra Yvonne Hall

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Black male teachers comprise 2% of the teacher population in the United States. In light of this disparity, there is a need to diversify the teacher workforce by recruiting and retaining Black male teachers. Black teachers are influential in students’ academic performance and personal growth. Without their presence, we are missing a key demographic and a key part of a student's educational experience. While Black male teachers’ experiences have been studied, we are less clear on the motivational processes behind their decision to teach. Therefore, this qualitative study takes a phenomenological approach to understand the lived experiences of Black male …

An Examination Of The Perceptions Of Campus Safety Among Full-Time Faculty At Virginia Community Colleges, Hailey Ann Hermosa

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The view that colleges are generally safe has been challenged by threats of violence on campuses across the country, causing fear among stakeholders. Community college faculty are not immune to crime-related fear on campus; however, the research has largely ignored this population. This research serves to fill that gap.

The purpose of this nonexperimental quantitative study was to examine perceptions of campus safety among full-time faculty at Virginia community colleges. An electronic Likert-type scale survey was disseminated to a sample of 472 full-time faculty throughout seven Virginia community colleges of varying sizes. Of those, 135 (28.7%) voluntarily participated in the …

Surfacing Text Changes In Archived Webpages, Lesley Frew

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Webpages change over time, and web archives hold copies of historical versions of webpages. Users of web archives, such as journalists, want to find and view changes on webpages over time. However, the current search interfaces for web archives do not adequately support this task. For the web archives that include a full-text search feature, multiple versions of the same webpage that match the search query are shown individually without enumerating changes, or are grouped together in a way that hides changes. We present a change text search engine that allows users to find changes in webpages. We describe the …