Digital Commons Network^™

Racial Capitalism In Colson Whitehead’S The Underground Railroad, Daniel Paul Marx

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In this thesis I examine how Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad attempts to denounce a system of racial capitalism, but the various tactics used to achieve this are often clouded in an inadvertent participation in this system regardless. I contend that this participation is indicative of a particular reading’s predominance in our current American social context that nevertheless reinforces the racial capitalism the novel attempts to denounce. This inescapable reading is explored in the sections devoted to the various states the protagonist Cora travels to on her journey toward supposed freedom from bondage, as each state represents various iterations of …

Investigating Spinal Cord Injury At Different Locations On The Spinal Cord Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Haley Nauman

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The current study is derived from a larger study by Yao et al. (2019) that attempts to understand if Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is a good diagnostic tool for distinguishing spinal cord injured (SCI) participants from healthy controls from a structural perspective. Additionally, the study aims to determine whether the DTI parameters and the clinical functional scores of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM) improve over time for SCI when rehabilitation is implemented. The current study has the same aims but takes Yao’s work further by dividing cervical SCI participants based on the exact location of injury (i.e., upper and …

The Antioxidant Content Of Wong Lo Kat Tea, Valerie Kwong

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Wong Lo Kat (or Wanglaoji in Mandarin) is a popular soft drink containing herbal tea that is often used as a Chinese folk remedy for mild ailments. The herbs included in the drink are the following: Chinese Mesona, White Frangipani, Microcos, Chrysanthemum, Japanese Honeysuckle, Heal All, and Chinese Licorice. While there is research on the individual plants, there is limited information on the combined mixture of the herbs included in the Wong Lo Kat drink, particularly in published English literature. Antioxidant content for the individual herbs and a combined mixture of equal parts of each herb was tested using the …

Parameter Optimization For Excitable Cell Models, Amrit Parmar

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The electrophysiology of nodose ganglia neurons is of great interest in the analysis of cell membrane currents and action potential behavior. This behavior was initially outlined in the Hodgkin-Huxley conductance model [1] using a system of nonlinear differential equations. Later, Schild et al. [2] developed an extension of the Hodgkin-Huxley model to provide a more exhaustive description of ion channels involved in nodose neuronal action potential activity. We consider a variety of methods to fit the parameters of both the Hodgkin-Huxley and Schild et al. models to an empirical stimulus response dataset. Our methods were validated using synthetic datasets, as …

The Effects Of Traumatic Brain Injury On Empathy And Quality Of Life, Nicholas James Pek

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Physical, emotional, cognitive, and social problems can all result from a traumatic brain injury. The focus of this present research was to investigate individuals with moderate-to-severe TBI who lack empathy and how that lack in empathy might impact their quality-of-life. Individuals with moderate-to-severe TBI between ages 18 and 65 (N=39) completed questionnaires including the Quality of Life after Brain Injury (QOLIBRI) and Empathy Quotient (EQ) as part of a larger study. A correlational analysis was completed between the total scores on the EQ and total scores on the QOLIBRI before splitting the participants into groups. A relationship between total scores …

Potential Of Increased Thermal Tolerance As A Response To Acute Heat Stress In A Disease-Transmitting Mosquito Species, Nicole Ashley Scanlon

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Each year hundreds of millions of people are infected with mosquito-borne illnesses. West Nile Virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne diseases in the United States (McDonald et al., 2021). The first case of West Nile Virus was detected in the United States in 1999 (Sejvar, 2003). Since that time the number of cases has dramatically risen. Mosquitoes are ectotherms which means their body temperature is dependent on the thermal conditions outside of their body. Because of this they are very sensitive to changes in their environment. The Earth’s average temperature has been slowly but steadily rising. This small but …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Inner Speech Between Monolingual And Bilingual Speakers, Thomas Sears

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Inner speech is an individual’s silent, inner monologue; a growing amount of evidence indicates that inner speech is very common among both monolingual and multilingual speakers. Studies have shown that important cognitive functions are involved in inner speech pertaining to psychological development, however connections between inner speech and language acquisition/usage across speakers have been less of a focus. This study investigates the frequency and degree to which inner speech is used between monolingual English speakers and early-onset bilingual English/Spanish speakers by using a survey called the Revised-Varieties of Inner Speech Questionnaire (VISQ-R) by Alderson-Day et al. (2018). The aim of …

Accent Discrimination Across Different Language Families, Jee Mei Yeoh

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The present study examined native English listeners sensitivity to foreign-accented speech. The study assessed four different non-native accents (French, Spanish, Korean and Mandarin), examining the effect of stimulus length (sentence and word) and speaker gender (female and male). Each subject was presented with the four non-native accents and different item length while randomly assigned to speaker gender. Two speakers of respective foreign-accented speech were included. The results indicated that listeners were more sensitive to sentence condition than word condition and were consistent across the different accents. The main effect of speaker gender was not significant, however, the interaction between gender …

Exoskeleton Gait Training To Improve Walking Adaptability In Persons With Multiple Sclerosis, Alfonse Gaite

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

There have been numerous research studies investigating the feasibility and effectiveness of exoskeleton-assisted gait training as a treatment for lower extremity motor rehabilitation in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, while most of the research on exoskeleton- assisted gait training investigate its impact on general gait and balance during ambulation, investigating the effectiveness of exoskeleton gait training in improving walking adaptability remains underexplored. The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of exoskeleton- assisted gait training compared to traditional gait training on improving walking adaptability in persons with MS. The study is a secondary analysis using data from a Kessler …

The Identification Of Rogue Access Points Using Channel State Information, Irene Mcginniss

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Today's wireless networks (Wi-Fi) handle more significant numbers of connections, deploy efficiently, and provide increased reliability and high speeds at low cost. The ability of rogue access points (RAPs) to mimic legitimate APs makes them the most critical threat to wireless security. APs are found in coffee shops, supermarkets, stadiums, buses, trains, airports, hospitals, theaters, and shopping malls.

Rogue access points (RAP) are unauthorized devices that connect to legitimate access points and networks and bypass authorized security procedures. RAP detection has been attempted using hardware and software-based solutions requiring the developing of dedicated tools or beacon frame modification. (Arisandi, 2021). …

The Interconnected Roles Of Residues N189, E168, And S220 In M. Tuberculosis Indole-3-Glycerol Phosphate Synthase Catalysis, Erik Domlija

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis that primarily attacks the lungs. Drug resistance for M. tuberculosis is emerging and therefore new drug targets need to be identified. One way to target TB is through the inhibition of the tryptophan biosynthetic pathway of M. tuberculosis since production of tryptophan is essential for the replication of M. tuberculosis. The enzyme Indole-3-glycerol phosphate synthase (MtIGPS) was chosen as a potential drug target due to its role in tryptophan biosynthesis. Residue N189 interacts with active site residues E168 and S220. It is inferred from previous studies done with …

The Effects Of Ketamine On Performance In The Progressive Ratio Task And Nucleus Accumbens 5-Ht1b Receptor Expression In Wistar-Kyoto Rats, Andriy Fomin

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In the present study, we integrated the recent findings about rapid antidepressant action of ketamine and possible involvement of the serotonergic system, and 5-HT_1B receptor in particular, in the pharmacodynamics of this drug. We modeled anhedonia, a prominent symptom of depression, using the progressive ratio test in Wistar Kyoto rats. This strain of rat is reportedly an endogenously stress-reactive organism that displays an anhedonia-like endophenotype. We hypothesized that Wistar-Kyoto rats’ performance would be impaired, compared to Wistar-Han controls, on this reward- and motivation- related task and that the treatment with 1o mg/kg ketamine 24 hours prior to testing will …

United States National Aeronautics And Space Agency Response To The Office Of Science And Technology Policy Memo, 2022: Public Access (May 2023)

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

NASA response to OSTP memo, 2022: Public Access (May 2023)

Subcutaneous Infusions For Comfort Care Patients, Kelci Steeples

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Over 75% of hospice cases fail to eliminate pain despite high quality hospice care (Herr et al., 2010). The purpose of this quality project was to improve pain management in end-of-life patients via subcutaneous medication administration. An orderset was created to include subcutaneous infusion medications using the collaborative efforts of pharmacy leadership and palliative medicine leadership. Patients requiring pain management who were under hospice or palliative care and, lost intravenous (IV) access, were considered for this quality improvement project. A total of eleven patients met project qualifications, but unfortunately, two patients passed away before receiving pain medications subcutaneously. Project findings …

Advance Care Planning In Primary Care, Isabel Butterfield, Darby Creasey, Jenna Dean

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Advance care planning (ACP) is the process of preemptively making choices regarding medical preferences for end-of-life care, while still having decision-making capacity. Many patients don’t have an advanced directive (AD), or documentation of these decisions. This planning improves the individual’s perception of quality of life, a good death, and autonomy over their healthcare. The discussion regarding ACP can take place in primary care at wellness visits for patients over 18 years old, while healthy and able to discuss their wishes with a trusted medical provider. Providers have tools to aid patients in completing AD; however, barriers include lack of knowledge, …

Postdural Puncture Headaches And The Development Of A Treatment Protocol, Matthew Gill

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Roughly 1% of patients receiving an epidural for analgesia will experience an accidental dural puncture (ADP). Of that 1%, half will go on to develop a postdural puncture headache (PDPH) (Apfel, 2010). PDPH presents 24-48 hours after neuraxial anesthesia as a dull, bilateral, throbbing, postural headache that is often accompanied by nausea (Patel et al., 2020). Although PDPH is a fairly common complication associated with neuraxial anesthesia, many facilities offering obstetric services lack a written protocol addressing ADP and PDPH treatment. The purpose of this project was to design and introduce a PDPH evidence-based treatment protocol for a hospital in …

The Us War In Afghanistan And The War Powers Act: A Natural Experiment, Burrell Fletcher V

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

How Can the War Powers Act of 1972 be Reformed to Increase the Chances of Winning Wars?

This paper examines the effects of the War Powers Act of 1973’s Authorisation for Use of Military Force (AUMF) system on the conduct of war, especially regarding the ongoing War on Terror. The War on Terror, began in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks when President Bush invaded Afghanistan. Congress, using the War Powers Act, passed the 2001 AUMF in the weeks after the attacks. The 2001 AUMF has been used in twenty-two countries to justify anti-terror operations thus far (Savell, …

But We’Re Heroes: The Use Of Tabletop Roleplaying Games As An Intervention For Social Anxiety In University Students, Allen F. Burnett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) are an increasingly popular hobby. These games have been used to improve social skills and mental well-being. Social anxiety and isolation have become increasingly problematic on college campuses. Current methods for treating social anxiety, such as CBT and exposure therapy, have proven effective in treating social anxiety but have a high non-completion rate. The gamification of therapeutic interventions has proven to be a method to increase enrollment and retention in such interventions. Moreover, adding social skills reinforcement to exposure therapy has proven to be an effective treatment for social anxiety. A specifically designed Dungeons & Dragons …

Approaches For Mitigating Woody Breast In Commercial Broilers Through Nutritional And Management Strategies, Clay Maynard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Breast myopathies have caused significant economic losses to the poultry industry over the last decade. The induction of woody breast (WB), white striping (WS), and spaghetti meat (SM) have caused textural issues, functional issues, and a decline in consumer acceptance. Of these three myopathies, WB causes the most pronounced effects on product quality and reduces functional use. Woody breast is also commonly associated with expansive breast meat growth/high performing broilers. However, progress in reducing these myopathies has been limited without hindering other aspects of poultry rearing. Generally, production performance reduces as myopathy occurrence or incidence reduces. This response is primarily …

(Nearly) All Roads Lead To Polarization: Cognitive Dissonance And The Inverse Relationship Between Polarization And Trivialization In The 2016 And 2020 Elections, Austin D. Eubanks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated cognitive dissonance theory—in particular, outcome-based dissonance, i.e., dissonance experienced from facing an outcome inconsistent with ones’ choice (in this case, preferring the candidate who lost the election)—in electoral contexts using the 2016 and 2020 American National Election Studies data (ns = 3,648 and 7,453, respectively). The particularly negative context of the 2016 and 2020 elections offered an opportunity to make a novel direct empirical comparison of choice valence between “hard/positive choices” (i.e., between two “good” alternatives) and “hard/negative choices” (i.e., between two “bad” alternatives) using real-world data. Results showed that after the election, respondents who preferred …

Starch Granule And Crystalline Structures With Relation To Enzyme Digestibility, Ana Isabel Gonzalez Conde

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Porous starch produced by enzyme hydrolysis has attracted much attention for its adsorption and delivery properties. Porous starch has been successfully prepared from A-type starch, but not from B-type and C-type starches, which is partly attributed to the surface and crystalline structure. The present study aimed to characterize the role of the crystalline structure and the structure-function relationship impacting the susceptibility of starch with different crystalline polymorphs to amylase digestion. The starches were subjected to chemical modification (acid hydrolysis or surface gelatinization), physical modification (heat-moisture treatment, HMT, or high-pressure processing, HPP) or their combinations prior to amylase digestion, and the …

Modbus Rtu For Embedded Cyber Secure Inverter Controller, Brady Mcbride

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Modbus communication protocol is a widely adopted communication standard in industrial control systems. This communication protocol is known for being reliable and straightforward to implement while being versatile in terms of its operating parameters while supporting multiple formats over various hardware infrastructures and architectures. Many intelligent devices such as Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs), Internet-of-Things (IoT), and various Operational Technologies (OT) utilize Modbus for their communication systems. These types of systems must communicate with each other through a standardized and central communication process. To support the integration of these modular systems, a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) can …

First-Principal Investigations Of The Electronic, Magnetic, And Thermoelectric Properties Of Crtirhal Quaternary Heusler Alloy, Shuruq Alsayegh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Density functional theory calculations are performed to investigate the electrical electronic, magnetic, and thermoelectric properties of CrTiRhAl quaternary Heusler alloy (QHA). The type-I atomic configuration is found to be the most stable structure of this alloy. The CrTiRhAl QHA exhibits a half-metallic ferromagnetic structure with a narrow band gap at one spin channel (semiconductor), and a metallic behavior at the other spin channel. This corresponds to a 100% spin-polarization, making it ideal for potential spintronic applications. Applying the semi-classical Boltzmann theory, the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and electronic thermal conductivity of CrTiRhAl alloy were calculated. The predicted figure of merit …

Dicamba Translocation And Metabolism In Susceptible Soybean And Evaluation Of Factors Contributing To Volatilization, Maria Leticia Zaccaro

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The expansion of dicamba-resistant technology increased the use of dicamba in season and relocated the off-target movement towards the growing season, negatively affecting susceptible vegetation, such as soybean. This research aimed to understand different aspects of the off-target movement of dicamba and impact on susceptible soybean. A study determined the accumulation of dicamba in soybean seed (grain) when parental plants at the pod-filling stage were treated with 1/200 of a labeled rate of dicamba at 560 g ae ha-1 and radiolabeled herbicide used as a tracer. This research found that 44% of the total herbicide absorbed by the parent plants …

The Influence Of Pesticides On Us Corn Production Environmental Impact: A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Of Dominant Production Practices, Kyle Marinoni Lawrence

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years there has been increasing interest in reducing agricultural environmental footprints in the United States, particularly for commodity crops like corn grain. Pest management is one aspect of agricultural production that is often identified as having potential for improvement with regard to environmental impact, but there is not a robust body of literature to identify the wide-scale influence of pesticides on yield and environmental impact. In this study, we hypothesized that the use of different classifications of pesticides has a significant impact on the overall environmental impact. To test this, agricultural models were created to represent the dominant …

The Silence In America’S Classrooms: The Portrayal Of Women And Gender In United States High School History Textbooks, Allie Elizabeth Morris

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the twenty-first century, the process of adopting statewide history textbooks has become a political battleground surrounding concepts of race, gender, and identity in American history. By contextualizing the current discussion surrounding content in American history textbooks, I examine the portrayal of women in secondary United States social studies textbooks from the 1960s to the 2010s. In doing so, I show how portrayals of women's history evolve in the most widely adopted high school post-Civil War American history textbooks in each decade from the 1960s through to the 2000s. By comparing the evolution of the women’s and gender historiography to …

The Perceptions Of Elementary Kurdish Teachers Of Their Education Preparation Programs, Khoshee Othman Mohammed

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT This study investigates the perceptions of in-service elementary Kurdish teachers regarding their educational preparation and teacher training courses in the Kurdistan Regional Government. An ethnographic case study approach was utilized, which involved a survey of four study domains and in-depth interviews with elementary teachers. These study domains included classroom planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction, and professional responsibility. Additionally, demographic characteristics of the in-service teachers were examined, such as gender, age, years of experience, study majors, and institutions they graduated from. The sample comprised 195 participants selected by the General Directorate of Education to complete the survey. Purposive sampling …

An Exploratory Analysis On The Lived Experiences Of First-Year Students Participating In Living Learning Communities On A College Campus, Cody James Lindbloom

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Living learning communities in higher education involve students living in a shared residence space and a faculty or staff member leading various activities. These communities have been shown to help students transition to and retain in higher education, promote higher grade point averages, and provide peer support. However, only a limited number of published studies have shown the benefits for students who may have adverse experiences because they come from diverse backgrounds. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceived social support received and the benefits of the support across a sample of first-semester living learning community students …

Fulfilling Koch’S Postulates And Evaluation Of Different Administration Routes In Poults Challenged With Streptococcus Gallolyticus, Latasha Gray

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Streptococcus gallolyticus (SG) is a Gram-positive found as commensal gut flora in animals and humans. SG has been associated with acute mortality in poults 2 to 3 weeks of age, with lesions mainly consisting of splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, and pericarditis. The objective of this thesis was to reproduce disease in poults caused by SG recovered from clinical field isolates and evaluate different routes of administration. Three field isolates from geographically disparate areas in Arkansas and Missouri were used for the experiments contained in this thesis. Antibiotic sensitives of the three field isolates revealed sensitivity to penicillin as well as a wide …

The Secondary School Science Olympiad Experience: Coaches Opinions And Attitudes Regarding Participation And Content Acquisition, Julieanna Darnell Rohde

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Science Olympiad (SO) is a team-oriented STEM competition that offers students the opportunity to participate in a wide range of STEM topics attracting students with varying STEM interests. This hermeneutic phenomenological cross-case study explored the experiences of 12 SO coaches with experience coaching middle school and/or high school teams. Educational settings for the teams included public schools, private schools, and homeschool. Coaches were asked to fill out an open-ended questionnaire about their SO coaching experiences. Based upon questionnaire responses, coaches were invited to participate in follow-up interviews. The experiences related by the coaches in the interviews were written as case …