Digital Commons Network^™

Implementation Of Methods For Cell Therapy Research And Assessment Of The Impact Of Cryopreservation, Samantha Lynes

Master's Theses

Cell therapy is the administration of living cells into a patient to prevent or treat a variety of diseases and illnesses. The cell therapy industry is rapidly expanding, and continued research is necessary for manufacturing safe and effective therapies. Although cell therapy manufacturing generally involves cryopreservation processes for storage, there are limited standards for cryopreservation processes and assays required to evaluate cell therapies post-thaw, and limited understanding exists about how a recovery period post-thaw could impact cell health. The overall goal of this thesis was to evaluate the effect of cryopreservation and potential subsequent recovery time on cell viability.

Because …

Closed-Form Solutions For Cauchy-Euler Differential Equations Through The New Iterative Method (Nim), Belal Batiha, Ahmed Salem Heila, Firas Ghanim

Applied Mathematics & Information Sciences

In this paper, a new iterative method (NIM) is proposed for solving Cauchy-Euler differential equations. NIM simplifies the computational process and directly addresses both linear and nonlinear, homogeneous and non-homogeneous equations, while being user-friendly and accessible. The method’s efficiency, reliability, and accuracy are demonstrated through four examples. NIM offers a versatile and practical solution, making it a valuable tool for mathematical analysis.

Enabling High Throughput And Reliable Low Latency Communication Over Vehicular Mobility In Next-Generation Cellular Networks, Snigdhaswin Kar

All Dissertations

The fifth-generation (5G) networks and beyond need paradigm shifts to realize the exponentially increasing demands of next-generation services for high throughputs, low latencies, and reliable communication under various mobility scenarios. However, these promising features have critical gaps that need to be filled before they can be fully implemented for mobile applications in complex environments like smart cities. Although the sub-6 GHz bands can provide reliable and larger coverage, they cannot provide high data rates with low latencies due to a scarcity of spectrum available in these bands. Millimeter wave (mmWave) communication is a key enabler for a significant increase in …

Preserving User Data Privacy Through The Development Of An Android Solid Library, Alexandria Lim

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In today’s world where any and all activity on the internet produces data, user data privacy and autonomy are not prioritized. Companies called data brokers are able to gather data elements of personal information numbering in the billions. This data can be anything from purchase history, credit card history, downloaded applications, and service subscriptions. This information can be analyzed and inferences can be drawn from analysis, categorizing people into groups that range in sensitivity — from hobbies to race and income classes. Not only do these data brokers constantly overlook data privacy, this mass amount of data makes them extremely …

Universal Computation Using Self-Assembling, Crisscross Dna Slats, Jackson S. Bullard

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

I first give a brief introduction to formal models of computation. I then present three different approaches for computation in the aTAM. I later detail generating systems of crisscross slats given an arbitrary algorithm encoded in the form of a Turing machine. Crisscross slats show potential due to their high levels of cooperativity, so it is hoped that implementations utilizing slats are more robust to various growth errors compared to the aTAM. Finally, my software converts arbitrary crisscross slat systems into various physical representations that assist in analyzing their potential to be realized in experiments.

The Effects Of Sound-Based Intervention On The Daily Performance Of College-Aged Students, Claire Pribble

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

A mixed-methods summary examining the effects of The Listening Program (TLP) on the daily performance of a graduate student is presented. This is a pilot study that will observe the impacts of this program and the possible improvements in focus, visual perception, time management, behavior, and emotional and social regulation. Improvements in self-control/belief and overall stress management were noted.

This case study focuses on one college-aged individual who is successfully and independently managing her graduate experience, receives no accommodations for disability, and has no previous experience with The Listening Program. Self-reports indicated high levels of intermittent stress and anxiety which …

Measuring Awareness Of Spd And Interprofessional Collaboration And Practices Among Professionals In An Elementary Public School Setting, Kyra Resende

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a neurological condition in which the brain has trouble receiving and responding to sensory information, which can lead to sensory dysregulation (Rodden, 2023). Because everyone constantly receives sensory input, having SPD can impact a child’s life in numerous ways, such as academic and social success. Research indicates that 5% to 16% of students may have this neurological condition (Bunim, 2013), which is significant enough to expect that school professionals have appropriate awareness about SPD. Additionally, there is usually an overlap of professionals who serve students experiencing SPD, resulting in a need for interprofessional collaboration (IPC) …

Fatale, Fragile, And Furiosa: Redefining Female Tropes For A New Generation Of Feminism In Jeanne Shaffer's Three Faces Of Woman For Clarinet And Piano, Olivia Harrison

Music Undergraduate Honors Theses

Among the discipline of music, the representation of women in music professions and the artform itself reveals great disparities between gender identities. In spite of this, musician and composer Jeanne Shaffer approaches the ongoing fight for women’s representation and equity in music. Shaffer’s piece “Three Faces of Woman” for clarinet and piano (1995) depicts three delineations of femininity that women are reduced to. Influenced by cultural minimalization of women, Shaffer’s piece uses different compositional genres as vehicles to illustrate these ever-present stereotypes and the unyielding need to combat them. The first movement presents the trope of the Femme Fatale; the …

Linux Malware Obfuscation, Brian Roden

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Many forms of malicious software use techniques and tools that make it harder for their functionality to be parsed, both by antivirus software and reverse-engineering methods. Historically, the vast majority of malware has been written for the Windows operating system due to its large user base. As such, most efforts made for malware detection and analysis have been performed on that platform. However, in recent years, we have seen an increase in malware targeting servers running Linux and other Unix-like operating systems resulting in more emphasis of malware research on these platforms. In this work, several obfuscation techniques for Linux …

Micro-Faraday Cage Design And Analysis For Rf Sensitive Components On An Ltcc Substrate In Hfss, Roberto Quezada

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on creating and testing two different simulation environments in HFSS and analyzing the effectiveness of a micro-Faraday Cage on the RF Sensitive component by exchanging the SMPS and RF Sensitive component with 25GHz Microstrip Patch Antennas. Modern integrated circuit board systems consist of components that can generate electromagnetic signals and components that may be sensitive to electromagnetic interference. A switched-mode power supply (SMPS) is one component capable of producing electromagnetic interference (EMI) through its fundamental and harmonic switching frequency. By using a Faraday Cage to shield the RF-sensitive element, it is possible to reduce its susceptibility to …

Country-Scale Crop Field Mapping For Zambia Using U-Net, Yao-Ting Yao

Sustainability and Social Justice

Cropland mapping is a crucial tool for evaluating food security. Cropland in African countries is expected to expand by at least 140M ha by 2050 to satisfy food demand. Developing accurate, large-area cropland maps of Africa’s smallholder agricultural systems is critical. To address this need, we use U-Net, a convolutional neural network, to map cropland for the year 2021 in the Republic of Zambia, a country experiencing rapid agricultural growth. To undertake this work, we first created a labeling platform and workflow protocol on Google Earth Engine (GEE) to collect labels from high spatial-resolution Planet-Scope NICFI Basemaps (4.77m) within grids …

Psychology Department Newsletter- May 1, 2023, Department Staff

Psychology Department Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Notes From The Field

Virginia Journal of Public Health

No abstract provided.

Why Inverse Layers In Pavement? Why Zipper Fracking? Why Interleaving In Education? A General Explanation, Edgar Daniel Rodriguez Velasquez, Aaron Velasco, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In many practical situations, if we split our efforts into two disconnected chunks, we get better results: a pavement is stronger if instead of a single strengthening layer, we place two parts of this layer separated by no-so-strong layers; teaching is more effective if instead of concentrating a topic in a single time interval, we split it into two parts separated in time, etc. In this paper, we provide a general explanation for all these phenomena.

Eschatology And Christian Ethics: An Argument For Disabled Beatitude, Marco Peter Spataro

Religious Studies Honors Theses

Catholic eschatology studies four elements of the afterlife: Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell. The primary purpose of this paper will be to evaluate the prerequisites for beatification, the state of being for souls elevated to heavenly status. This paper will seek to argue in favor of disabled beatification, particularly for the souls whose mental illness prohibited their use of right reason in this life, through an examination of malignant theology, mental illness, a Catholic definition of God, and the implications such a definition has on the wider study and care of the mentally ill. I will then suggest a path …

Alternative Approach For Assessment Of Hydraulic Design Basis For Pressure Pipe Liners, John Jacob Kraft Iv

Doctoral Dissertations

New product development requires stringent testing to ensure that strength and safety standards are met by the innovative materials. When developing a new pipe material, several factors have to be tested for. In addition to normal material characteristics such as elastic modulus of pipe materials, long-term hydrostatic strength (LTHS) and hydrostatic design basis (HDB) are needed. Tests for typical material characteristics are commonplace and can certainly be conducted in most lab facilities. In contrast, LTHS and HDB as described in ASTM D2992 are two tests that can prove very challenging to conduct. The current method requires a minimum of 18 …

Was Atwater V. Lago Vista Decided Correctly? The Fourth Amendment's Shadow And Simulacra Of Police Brutality And The American Dream, Charles Lincoln

Barry Law Review

No abstract provided.

Design Of A Sigma-Delta Adc In 65nm Cmos Process, Michael Lee Thompson Iii

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Analog and digital signals both play a vital role in electrical engineering and the technology of today. As the role of electrical and computer engineers becomes more deeply involved in the development of new technology, an understanding of how these signals are utilized, and what they represent, is a necessity. Due to the inherent limitations involved with analog signals, there is a need for these signals to be accurately and efficiently converted to digital signals for processing. The job of the analog-to-digital converter, or ADC, is to receive this analog input signal (voltage or current) and create a digital representation …

Evaluation Of Dual Band J-Pole Antennas To Serve Drone-Mountable Ham Radio Repeater, Jeremiah Wimer

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The portable “roll-up” Dual-Band J-pole antenna model (commonly referred to as DBJ-2) is found to be the most favorable J-pole antenna design for serving a drone-mountable ham radio repeater. In addition to being light in weight, inexpensive to construct, and weather-resilient, the DBJ-2 offers the greatest Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) in the Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) bands compared to the other J-pole antenna designs evaluated. Enclosed is a brief overview of antenna design theory, as well as an exploration of various other J-pole antenna designs, and a clear rationale for selecting the DBJ-2 antenna design …

Upcycling Imperfect Broccoli And Carrot To Healthy Snacks Using An Innovative 3d Food Printing Approach, Taylor Clary

Food Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Vegetables are healthy foods with nutritional benefits; however, nearly one-third of the world’s fruits and vegetables are lost each year. The losses have the same nutritional value as an acceptable vegetable but have odd shapes or blemishes that make them unsuitable to consumers. 3D technology has numerous capabilities in the automotive, healthcare, and, now, food industries. Within the food industry, 3D food printing can bring customization to product design and nutrition as well as other advancements, including decreasing food waste. In this study, imperfect vegetables (i.e., broccoli and carrot) were upcycled into freeze-dried powders to improve their shelf-life before they …

Geochemical Analysis And Numerical Modeling Of Central And East Tennessee Mississippi Valley-Type Ore Districts: Constraints On Ore Genesis, Jackson Price Copeland

Geosciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

A simple two-way stochastic mixing model is presented for analysis of the lead (Pb) isotope compositions of the North American Mississippi Valley-Type (MVT) districts of East Tennessee, Central Tennessee, and Central Kentucky. Four distinct mixing scenarios were run to critically evaluate the stochastic model and examine different hypotheses regarding the genesis of Central Tennessee and Central Kentucky MVT deposits. Additionally, Pb isotope analysis was conducted on sphalerite samples from the Central and East Tennessee MVT districts. Model and sampling results suggest that Central Tennessee and Central Kentucky ores likely formed by mixing of three fluids. In contrast to conclusions from …

Student Preferences On The Development Of A Non-Alcoholic Beverage Product To Alleviate The Negative Impact Of Alcohol On College Campuses, Cecilia Azar

Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

Alcohol abuse and peer pressure to drink are prominent issues on college campuses across the nation. More than 50 percent of college students aged 18 to 22 consume alcohol monthly and 33 percent consistently engage in binge drinking (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2021a). A non-alcoholic beverage product marketed to students as an alternative to alcohol in social settings could alleviate some of the negative impacts, such as peer pressure and the dangers caused by overconsumption.

Through two phases, this study implements University of Arkansas student preferences and recipe modification in the development of a non-alcoholic beverage product …

Comparing Allistic And Autistic Honors Students’ Perceived Barriers To Succeeding In Honors And Their Preferred Resources, Vivian Brantley

Horticulture Undergraduate Honors Theses

In recent years, neurodivergent diagnoses have increased, particularly Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that as of 2020, among eight-year-olds, one in 36 children were diagnosed with ASD. Among college students with ASD there are many barriers to succeeding in higher education, such as being predisposed to higher drop-out rates than their allistic counterparts. Students with ASD struggle with many basic skills required to succeed in higher education like language processing and executive function. Because of their ASD diagnosis students may also struggle with the additional responsibilities associated with honors programs such as maintaining certain …

University Campus Breastfeeding, Knowledge, And Perceptions Of Support: An Exploratory Study, Allison L. Scott, Ann W. Lambert, Chih-Hsuan Wang, Kelly V. Johnson, Jessica Weiss, Tony Stankus

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Faculty Publications and Presentations

Breastfeeding is often considered principally a biological issue but success is impacted by the socio-ecological environment of the lactating parent. Identifying current attitudes towards breastfeeding is essential in the effort toward normalizing breastfeeding in communities, including university campuses. The study explored campus community knowledge, awareness, and attitudes about breastfeeding, including available resources and applicable laws on two university campuses in the southern United States. This cross-sectional, self-reporting study utilized the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale and an adaptation of the Breastfeeding Behavior Questionnaire to survey a convenience sample. Results revealed decreased awareness of protective laws, availability of private lactation space, …

How Company Culture Can Make Or Break An Organization, Savannah Rubino

Information Systems Undergraduate Honors Theses

"Company culture" is one of many buzz phrases researchers use to define the climate of the modern workforce. It's a company's shared values and beliefs and manifests in the way they do business, what employees they attract, and even their bottom line. Company culture initially gained traction during the COVID-19 work-from-home wave when a remote setting allowed companies and employees alike to reevaluate the role of the workplace in their lives and how it shapes their personal and professional goals. This caused a pivot from "hustle" workplace culture to more of a holistic, balanced one. According to Forbes, hustle culture …

The Impact Of The Corporate Workspace On Employee Happiness And Turnover Rate, Sarah Ayla Johnston

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

The physical workspace is one that we can see, touch and smell (Morgan, 2018). From the floor layout to the furniture that fills the space, it all makes up the physical workspace where employees come to work. Physical workspaces can also include a cafeteria, gym, arcade area, etc. Prior studies have shown that small, yet meaningful modifications can be made to achieve an optimal workspace (Heitzman, 2018). The purpose of this study is to collect data from employees who conduct work in different office layouts to see how their physical workspace affects their overall happiness and their intent of staying …

Life-Tactics Business Plan, Tanvir Mondair

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

High schools often have career programs, however, the demand for career guidance counselors outweighs the supply. Thus Life-Tactics was created and dedicated to teaching students about career readiness post-high school graduation. Life-Tactics teaches students about career guidance, opportunities post-graduation, and provides students with resources to make better-informed decisions after they graduate.

The “Invisible” Impact In The Arts: A Multiple-Case Comparative Study Depicting The Challenge Of Impact Reporting For Arts Impact Organizations, Heidi Rolf

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

This Honors Thesis researches the complex interrogative following the arts impact industry and the impact reporting methods available to the organizations within this industry. The research is achieved through a multiple-case study on six different arts impact organizations and additional web-based analysis. The case studies provide the structure for the ultimate discussion on available impact reporting methods for arts impact organizations and the level of importance, difficulty, and constraints associated with this form of reporting. This study presents detail on the growth and position of the current arts impact industry as well as that of the creative economy as a …

Reverse Engineering Post-Quantum Cryptography Schemes To Find Rowhammer Exploits, Sam Lefforge

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Post-quantum cryptography is a necessary countermeasure to protect against attacks from quantum computer. However, the post-quantum cryptography schemes are potentially vulnerable to side channel attacks. One such method of attacking involves creating bit-flips in victim memory through a process called Rowhammer. These attacks can vary in nature, but can involve rowhammering bits to raise the encryption scheme's decryption failure rate, or modifying the scheme's random seed. With a high enough decryption failure rate, it becomes feasible to generate sufficient information about the secret key to perform a key recovery attack. This thesis proposed two attacks on proposed post-quantum cryptography algorithms, …

Realtime In-Network Cyberattack Detection In Power Grid Systems Using A Programmable Network, Luke Waind

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Power grid communication networks are important systems to detect intrusions from an attacker due to them being necessary to maintain critical infrastructure. This thesis applies recent advancements in P4 technology to detect cyberattacks in SCADA systems. In previous work, a list has been compiled of potential attacks that exploit one of the most common protocols in SCADA systems, DNP3. Solutions for detecting these attacks can be categorized by the broad methods that they use. The two methods that are focused on are single-packet inspection and multiple-packet inspection. For each of these, a specific attack is chosen and a detection algorithm …