Digital Commons Network^™

Dodea K-12 Student Perceptions Toward Adjusting To Math Curricula Discrepancies Among Base Schools, Jackie Zuiderhof

Theses and Dissertations

Students who are affiliated with the United States Armed Forces will transition every two to four years depending on their parents’ career. The students who move may have educational gaps in mathematics because of a United States Armed Forces move occurring in the middle of a school year. The problem of practice addresses the educational gaps that former students and teachers perceive occurring related to content knowledge and procedural fluency. The researcher used a mixed methods study to ask close-ended quantitative questions and open-ended qualitative questions. The research was conducted on the web-based platform of Facebook. The results of the …

Water Quality Hotspot Analysis On Chlorophyll-A To Monitor Harmful Algal Blooms In Small And Medium Lakes Of North Dakota, Sae Young Lee

Theses and Dissertations

The water quality of recreational lakes degrades with Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). HABs can block sunlight, lower oxygen levels, and may produce toxins. Industrial and domestic waste and fertilizer runoffs can enrich nutrients for HABs. Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) is a significant indicator for tracking HABs and has been monitored increasingly using remote sensing techniques. In search for significant trends in hotspots of Chl-a concentrations in small and medium lakes of northeastern North Dakota, Chl-a water samples were collected in summer and fall of 2023. The study lakes include: Fordville Dam Recreation Area, Larimore Dam RecreationArea, Homme Dam Recreation Area, and South …

How Hydrophobicity, Side Chains, And Salt Affect The Dimensions Of Disordered Proteins, Srinivas Chakravarthy, Joseph R Sachleben, Sarah Antilla, Nina Hartrampf, Joshua A Riback, Isabelle A Gagnon, Bradley L Pentelute, Patricia L Clark, Tobin R Sosnick

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Despite the generally accepted role of the hydrophobic effect as the driving force for folding, many intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), including those with hydrophobic content typical of foldable proteins, behave nearly as self-avoiding random walks (SARWs) under physiological conditions. Here, we tested how temperature and ionic conditions influence the dimensions of the N-terminal domain of pertactin (PNt), an IDP with an amino acid composition typical of folded proteins. While PNt contracts somewhat with temperature, it nevertheless remains expanded over 10-58°C, with a Flory exponent, ν, >0.50. Both low and high ionic strength also produce contraction in PNt, but this contraction …

Targeting C-Myc Transactivation By Lmna Inhibits Trna Processing Essential For Malate-Aspartate Shuttle And Tumour Progression, Xiaojing Wang, Dan Li, Guo Chen, Banghe Bao, Jiyu Song, Xinyi Du, Chunhui Yang, Liduan Zheng, Qiangsong Tong

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: A series of studies have demonstrated the emerging involvement of transfer RNA (tRNA) processing during the progression of tumours. Nevertheless, the roles and regulating mechanisms of tRNA processing genes in neuroblastoma (NB), the prevalent malignant tumour outside the brain in children, are yet unknown.

Methods: Analysis of multi-omics results was conducted to identify crucial regulators of downstream tRNA processing genes. Co-immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry methods were utilised to measure interaction between proteins. The impact of transcriptional regulators on expression of downstream genes was measured by dual-luciferase reporter, chromatin immunoprecipitation, western blotting and real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) …

Neurodevelopment And Metabolism In The Maternal-Placental-Fetal Unit, Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Cheryl K Walker, Carolyn M Slupsky

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Importance: Disturbances in maternal, placental, and fetal metabolism are associated with developmental outcomes. Associations of maternal, placental, and fetal metabolism with subsequent neurodevelopmental outcomes in the child are understudied.

Objective: To investigate the metabolic associations within the maternal-placental-fetal unit and subsequent neurodevelopmental outcomes in younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Design, setting, and participants: This cohort study was conducted within a subset of the Markers of Autism Risk in Babies, Learning Early Signs (MARBLES) cohort. MARBLES is a prospective birth cohort of younger siblings of children with ASD assessed for neurodevelopmental outcomes at approximately age 36 months. …

Evaluating Distributed Software Design Conformance Through Trace Comparison, Reid Barry Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The design of a system and its implementation are two tasks often carried out by different individuals on a development team and can occur weeks or months apart. This creates a potential for divergence between real behavior and the designed model that the implementation is intended to match. Particularly as time passes and individuals that were present for the original conception of the design leave, a system can begin to lose coherence and drift apart from intended design principles. Even with a robust and high-quality design for a software system, more is needed to guarantee that the key details of …

Public Instagram Accounts Of Saudi Women Public Figures In A Context Of Social Change, Gamra Motlaq Albogami

Theses and Dissertations

This research analyzed 100 Instagram posts of ten Saudi women's public figures using a qualitative methodology to explore how their cultural and gender roles and norms are portrayed and how these portrayals align with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 objectives. The findings indicate that these public figures integrate traditional cultural and gender norms with contemporary norms in their online presentations. Traditional attire and familial roles are commonly showcased, underscoring the profoundly ingrained importance of cultural values in alignment with the findings in existing literature. However, there was a noticeable shift towards contemporary portrayals of identity, particularly in professional life, reflecting the …

Applying Systems Engineering Principles To The Design Of Multi-Channel Functional Electrical Stimulator, Yasser Ayeva

Theses and Dissertations

Paralyzed patients due to spinal cord injuries or other injuries can produce functional movements with the help of functional electrical stimulation (FES). Electrical discharges are applied to the patient's muscles to help with specific movements like walking, standing, and holding and grasping objects (Cleveland Clinic,2023). FES is not a novel technology, in fact, the term FES was not used until 1967 when Moe and Post created it. (Moe & Post, 1962). This technology has been around, and a wide range of devices utilizing it are currently on the market to support patients' treatment and rehabilitation all over the world. As …

Exploring The Role Of Restorative Practices Facilitators In The Secondary School Setting: Self-Efficacy, Collective Efficacy, And Systemic Implementation Recommendations, Rachel K. Bachmeier

Theses and Dissertations

While restorative practices (RP) is hailed as one of the oldest criminal justice models in the world, the official advent of RP in education did not occur until the 1990s. Mirroring the reemergence of RP into legal systems, educators began experimenting with the application of RP in the educational setting. Today, restorative work in schools has expanded beyond an alternative to exclusionary discipline measures into an effort to build, maintain, and, when necessary, restore community. More and more teacher preparation programs address restorative justice principles and the rising dedication to Social Emotional Learning and Culturally Responsive Teaching often embraces RP. …

Synthesis Of Highly Selective Fluoroionophores For Metal Cations And Their Biological Applications, Md Abdur Rahim Badsha

Theses and Dissertations

Fluoroionophore for ionic and neutral analytes are extensively used in a number of fields for example: pharmacology, physiology, biology, and environmental sciences. The concept of this fluoroionophore in other word fluorescent chemo sensor has been used in the past 150 years. In recent years, a wide range of fluoroionophores have been developed for the detection of chemical species which are important for environment and biology. Instead of the progress, still there are challenges and problems in this area of research. This thesis addresses novel sensors for the measurement of biologically important cations. The sensors are based on fluoroionophores which shows …

The Effects Of Disconfirming Feedback On Multiple Tests Of A Witness's Memory, Kaden Alan Bollinger

Theses and Dissertations

Testing a witness’s memory more than once has been shown to decrease accuracy in subsequent tests, and providing a witness with disconfirming feedback has also been shown to reduce confidence levels and reduce accuracy after they have made a decision from a lineup. The current study aims to examine how disconfirming feedback affects a witness’s accuracy throughout multiple lineups, as well as looking to examine the reflector variables of reaction time and the “Remember, Know, Guess” (e.g. RKG) questionnaire. Participants who incorrectly chose a suspect from an initial target-absent lineup were given disconfirming feedback and randomly assigned to either a …

The Effects Of Juror Characteristics And Case Type On Trans Panic Defense Verdicts, Isabella Noel Coppa

Theses and Dissertations

The trans panic defense is a provocation defense that uses the victim’s transgender identity as justification for the defendant’s violent actions. Previous research has identified juror characteristics that predict support for the gay panic defense (Michalski & Nunez, 2022) and trans panic defense (Michalski et al., 2022), but less is known about whether case type impacts support for the trans panic defense. This study sought to fill this gap by manipulating case type and further exploring juror characteristics that predict greater support of the trans panic defense. This study utilized 188 participants that read crime vignettes featuring transgender or cisgender …

Usda Wildlife Services Management Efforts At The Grand Forks Wastewater Treatment Plant, Dorothy Celeste Daulton

Theses and Dissertations

Wildlife collisions with aircraft (wildlife strikes) are a costly and dangerous issue. In recent decades, wildlife strikes within airport boundaries have decreased partly due to on-airfield wildlife strike mitigation efforts. Landscape attractants surrounding airfields within an 8 km radius have been found to influence the occurrence of wildlife strikes by increasing wildlife presence and abundance on or near airfields. The effectiveness of mitigation efforts can be increased by extending operations to include landscape features in an 8 km radius from airports. However, not much is known about the long-term effects of wildlife strike mitigation operations when conducted on neighboring properties, …

The Role Of Enso On Atmospheric Patterns In The Great Plains Of The United States In The Cesm2 Large Ensemble, Taylor Jean Dolan

Theses and Dissertations

The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a common teleconnection used for seasonal forecasts over the Great Plains of the United States, where the warmer (colder) conditions are associated with the positive (negative) phase. Precipitation is more nuanced due to the impacts of single events on seasonal precipitation. Understanding how ENSO impacts temperature and precipitation events in a warming climate is vital for understanding risks to the agricultural community. Unfortunately, deterministic climate simulations complicate matters as results can vary between different models due to internal variability.This study leverages the Community Earth System Model 2 Large Ensemble (CESM2) to explore the …

Analyzing The Effects Of Land Use, Land Cover, And Infrastructure On Water Quality Standards Within The Itasca And St. Louis Moraine Region Of Minnesota., Jamesguy Gierisch

Theses and Dissertations

The river and lake systems in the United States are essential to commerce and human existence. A study of the water quality of the upper Mississippi River watershed was conducted within Itasca State Park, Minnesota. This research focused on ten lakes within the perimeter and backcountry parts of the State Park. The focus of this research was the water quality between lakes, the water quality compared to anthropogenic features, and water quality compared with the land cover of its watershed. Water samples were collected from July 2022 through May 2023 and analyzed for selected ions, field parameters of temperature, pH, …

Equipping Leaders To Meet The Essential Needs Of Early Childhood Educators In North Dakota: Sustaining An Engaged And Highly Qualified Early Care And Education Workforce, Beth Heyne

Theses and Dissertations

High-quality early childhood program options are in high demand not only because research has solidified the importance of early childhood experiences on human development but also because most households have all available adults participating in the labor force. Sustainability of the early care and education workforce is a common problem of practice that impacts many early childhood settings, which has only been exacerbated in recent years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of this research aims to identify challenges faced by early childhood educators to equip leaders with strategic approaches to increase the likeliness of organizational commitment and engagement …

Advancing Bridge Hydraulic Assessment With Hec-Ras 2d And Bathymetry Modeling In Arcgis Pro Using Hycat Asv Data, Daniel Iancu

Theses and Dissertations

This research centers on verifying an accurate and reliable method in deriving river bathymetry near bridge sites, which leads to critical enhancement of bridge scour analysis. The structural integrity of bridges is paramount, and accurate scour analysis is a cornerstone in civil engineering and public safety. Existing methods, though reliable and very well cemented in practice, may be improved with more precise water velocity estimates, which is essential for thorough bridge scour evaluations. Bridge assessments utilize bathymetry measurements in significant spots and or map out the continuous surface at the bottom of the river. This study seeks to validate if …

Nir-Spectroscopy With Data-Driven Application For Inspection And Prediction Of Combined Fouling And Moisture Contamination In Railroad Ballast., Eberechi Orie Ichi

Theses and Dissertations

Ballast contamination is a significant and growing challenge that causes railway track deterioration, poor drainage functionality, and early failure of railroad components. Traditional, human, destructive, field sampling, and most nondestructive evaluation (NDE) inspection methods are ineffective. They are plagued by drawbacks, such as inefficiency, subjective inspection outcome, alteration of existing structures, undermining the stability of the railroad substructure, traffic disruptions, and safety concerns, or providing limited information about the condition of the ballast. Therefore, a reliable noncontact technique is needed to evaluate, characterize, monitor, and predict the presence of contamination in railroad ballast. The conventional contamination indices only account for …

A Hybrid Framework To Secure Iot Sensor Networks Based On Blockchain And Machine Learning, Shereen Ismail

Theses and Dissertations

With the advances in sensor network technologies, more and more networked things, or smart objects, are being evolved in cyber-physical-based systems including Internet of Things. In recent years, Internet of Things Sensor Networks is a significant subject to a variety of internal and external cyber-attacks, necessitating the development of robust countermeasures tailored to their unique characteristics and limitations. Various prevention and detection techniques have been proposed to mitigate these attacks. Classical security techniques, such as spread spectrum, cryptography, and key management, may not efficiently detect attacks, and can demand sophisticated software and hardware changes, rendering these solutions insufficient to address …

Restoring The Occupational Therapy Spirit In Hand Therapy Practice, Karrianna Iseminger

Theses and Dissertations

The dominant role psychosocial factors play in physical healing and disability perceptions of individuals with upper extremity (UE) conditions has been documented repeatedly in the literature for over 40 years. This population is at particular risk given the number of occupations requiring the functional use of one or both UEs for successful performance. However, occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) specializing in hand therapy do not appear to have a shared practice or understanding of evaluation and intervention for psychosocial factors as they tend to focus mostly on the physical limitations of occupational performance. Therefore, the purpose of this three-article dissertation project …

A Qualitative Case Study Of Students' Of Color Perceptions And Experiences Of Academic Success In College Algebra At Snow College, Melanie Larsen Jenkins

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored perceptions of learning support and student success, particularly for students of color who had enrolled in a college algebra course. The purpose of this study was primarily to include student voices in the conversations about student success. The study uses a qualitative case study approach in two ways: 1) to interview nine students who found success and students who did not find success in College Algebra to glean information about their personal experiences and perceptions of learning and 2) to interview three professors of College Algebra to understand their pedagogical strategies that are designed to …

Novel Methods To Increase Carbon Mineralization Rates, Charles Ekpewani Kwaku Kporxah

Theses and Dissertations

Humans have contributed to climate change through anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, chlorofluorocarbons, and nitrous oxide, into the atmosphere. CO2 emissions contribute approximately 79% to the warming of the Earth's surface. Various tactics have been developed to slow down global warming and prepare for climate change, including carbon mineralization. Carbon mineralization is a process that converts CO2 into solid mineral forms, such as carbonates, emulating the natural weathering process of alkaline silicate rocks. However, the rate of natural weathering is slow, occurring on geologic time scales. Therefore, the goal of this research is to …

A Study Of Forecasted Electromagnetic Path Errors To Determine Potential Impacts On Detect And Avoid Systems For Unmanned Aircraft, Brianna Marie Kump

Theses and Dissertations

Temperature, atmospheric pressure, and vapor pressure affect electromagnetic propagation. ​For radars, variations in electromagnetic propagation can cause a radar target (e.g., aircraft) to shift in its apparent position, resulting in misrepresentation of the target’s position on the radar display​. These variations can be forecast using atmospheric profiles from Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) and ray tracing software. Evaluation and quantification of differences between forecasted and analyzed electromagnetic propagation conditions using ray tracing techniques and atmospheric conditions derived from the Rapid Refresh (RAP) model will provide guidance regarding Detect And Avoid (DAA) performance requirements.

Constructing And Understanding Angler License Typologies And Response To Landscape Change, Michael James Lant

Theses and Dissertations

The future of conservation could hinge entirely on voluntary contributions of individualsand their relationship with landscape features. Conservation funding is becoming increasingly unstable, shifting from large non-governmental organizations to voluntary user-pay funded organizations. At the same time the natural world is experiencing dramatic changes, such as the global extinction crisis and widespread loss of biodiversity. User-pay-experience models, such as recreational fishing in North Dakota, are challenged by the uncertainty surrounding angler participation and license sales. Our objectives were to 1) investigate license purchasing dynamics among resident North Dakota recreational anglers to reveal potential angler license typologies, 2) compare trip-related behavior …

Stem Teacher Shortage In American Schools: A Case Study Exploring The Recruitment Of Stem Majors Into Teacher Education Programs, Adekunle Lawal

Theses and Dissertations

There has been a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teacher shortage in K-12 schools across the United States (Klassen et al., 2021; Luft et al., 2005). To help provide a possible solution to the nationwide STEM teacher shortage, this study investigated the factors that influence STEM majors to change careers from STEM disciplines to teaching. In the current study, six American STEM teachers who have switched careers from the STEM profession to the teaching field were interviewed to find out the factors that led them to change careers; and how schools of education could use these factors in creating …

Performance Assessment Of Wastewater Treatment Processes: Evaporation, Microplastic Settling, Biosolid Air Drying And Gasification, Fangtian Li

Theses and Dissertations

The main contaminants in wastewater can be classified as suspended solid, dissolved inorganic and organic molecules. The dissolved inorganics in wastewater are salinity such as sodium chloride and sodium sulfate. Evaporation is one possible method to separate dissolved salt from high salinity wastewater, but the proper application of energy-saving evaporation depends on many conditions. Microplastic is a part of total suspended solids and can be effectively removed through settling process, and the removal efficiency can be predicted by settling model. Biological treatment eliminates organic matters and biosolids are the inevitable by-products. Air drying is a sustainable approach for reducing water …

Law Enforcement And Traumatic Experiences: A Qualitative Study With Administrators, Tami Jo N. Lieberg

Theses and Dissertations

The culture and work experiences of law enforcement lead to unique workplace trauma. The cumulative and complex trauma commonly faced by law enforcement officers can activate multiple stress-related illnesses, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These illnesses can have high personal costs to the individuals, lead to loss of departmental productivity and effectiveness, and incur higher expenses for taxpayers due to overtime and high turnover rates and potential lawsuits. Research over several decades has identified risk and resiliency factors for officers. One identified risk and resiliency factor is relationship with management. This research study explores how department leaders can assist officers …

Exploring Ambiguous Asteroid Taxonomic Classification, Tyler Linder

Theses and Dissertations

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Moving Object Catalog (MOC) shows color variations between asteroid observations, which were observed multiple times. This is a surprising result that was not identified in the literature. Therefore, a data processing pipeline was built to extract the asteroid observations to analyze new data collected with the SMARTS 1.0m and 4m Blanco with DECam. The results appear to confirm the color variations on short timescales. However, there is still a long series of steps required before such a result can be proven, such as ensuring the level of photometric accuracy in the processing is smaller …

Lstm Application To Mobile Robotics For Stuck Detection, Wilson Lysford

Theses and Dissertations

This paper presents a solution for determining if a wheeled robot is stuck that is operating without high fidelity localization sensors or operating in a sensor denied environment. Expensive sensors are often left off of consumer grade robotics in order to make them more widely available to consumers. This leaves the robot without effective means of perception. Research has shown that LSTM neural networks can provide insight that would normally only be available to a robot fitted with expensive sensor packages such as RTK GPS or LIDAR systems. Specifically, IMU data paired with controller data and wheel odometry data. By …

Modeling The Architecture And Water Content Of Exoplanet Systems By Pebble Accretion: The Ppols Model, Sean Mccloat

Theses and Dissertations

A key area linking frontier observational capabilities to theoretical questions of exoplanet system architectures is the transport and evolution of water in planet-forming disks and mechanisms that tune its incorporation into planets. This research develops a pebble accretion model of planet formation (“the PPOLs Model”) that self-consistently handles the drift and accretion of rocky/icy pebbles around stars ranging from late M-dwarfs to early A-stars. The model grows multiple protoplanet cores simultaneously and evolves the snow line position consistently with evolving disk conditions. The combination of growing multiple cores while evolving the snowline allows for a prolonged period of growth and …