Digital Commons Network^™

Accurate Or Aspirational? A Rhetorical Analysis Of One University's Representation Of Student Diversity, Kristen Coady Spaeth

English Theses - Archive

When approaching diversity within higher education, colleges and universities champion diversity initiatives as significant goals. Prospective students may choose colleges based on the aspirational role model, which inspires individuals who see themselves in visual representations (Allen & Collison, 2020). A 2013 Journal of Marketing for Higher Education study analyzed how 165 higher education institutions each portrayed racial and ethnic diversity of their student population. The study found that a majority of institutions presents inflated images of diversity to prospective students who were significantly different from the current student body (Pippert et al., 2013). This data is representative of findings from …

Identifying The Distinct Adaptive And Plastic Gene Expression Patterns And Microbial Indicators That Mediate Coral Disease Resistance, Nicholas James Macknight

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Infectious diseases are an increasing threat to coral reefs, resulting in altered community structure and hindering the functional contributions of disease susceptible species. While forecasting disease outbreaks based on environmental factors has progressed, we still lack a comparative understanding of susceptibility among coral species that would help predict disease impacts on coral communities. This dissertation compared the phenotypic, microbial, and coral host gene expression responses of seven diverse Caribbean coral species after exposure to white plague disease. Disease incidence and lesion progression rates were evaluated over a seven-day exposure. Coral microbiomes and RNA were sampled after lesion appearance or at …

Quantitative Non-Destructive Evaluation Of Rebar Corrosion In Concrete, Khadiza Binte Jalal

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

ABSTRACT: Corrosion of rebar is considered the leading cause of deterioration in concrete structures. When steel rust, it occupies larger volume and creates pressure on the concrete, leading to cracking and spalling. As the cross-section is being compromised, the structural capacity of the reinforced concrete structure is reduced. Corrosion is a slow natural electrochemical process that affects the long-term performance. However, sometimes premature catastrophic failure occurs due to corrosion, especially in chloride environments. Moreover, the cost of repair and replacement of deteriorated structures has become a major liability for management agencies. Consequently, it is important to determine the level of …

The Timing Of Insider Trading And Management Forecast Credibility, Xiaozhe Gu

Accounting Dissertations - Archive

In this paper, I study how past insider trading patterns affect management forecast credibility. I first hypothesize and find that, due to litigation concerns, executives are unlikely to use a “pump-and-dump” strategy to maximize trading profits. Instead, they issue more accurate and conservative management earnings forecasts before insider sales. I then document that insider sales after forecasts have signaling content. Specifically, firms where a higher fraction of insider sales occurs shortly after the forecast enjoy higher forecast credibility in the future. This effect is more pronounced when firms are difficult to value and less pronounced when firms show traces of …

Pearl Chase And Thomas More Storke: Two Community Builders In Twentieth Century Santa Barbara, California, Jacqueline M. Zeledon

History Dissertations - Archive

Pearl Chase (1888-1979) and Thomas More Storke (1876-1971) are the main protagonists in this dissertation which analyzes Santa Barbara, California, and its twentieth- century development. These two individuals dedicated their lives to improving, maintaining, and preserving their unique city, as they supported—and often led—many architectural, civic, educational, environmental, and infrastructural projects. Chase and Storke were selected to headline this dissertation because they were excellent examples of community builders whose prolific endeavors resulted in many achievements. Some of these accomplishments have become Santa Barbara icons for which the city is known, such as its picturesque architectural style and a University of …

Biomechanical Properties Of Porcine Neonatal Epidermis From Forelimb Tissue In The Longitudinal And Circumferential Directions, Neaz Almir

2022 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

In adult humans, it is common to replace damaged tissues and epidermal tissues of smooth muscles on internal organs with porcine xenografts during a surgical procedure. However, there is little research on the usage of neonatal porcine tissues because of the difficulty in performing mechanical testing and obtaining samples from neonatal pigs due to the delicate property of the tissues. By performing mechanical testing on tissues obtained from stillborn pigs, we can calculate the amount of stress and strain these tissues undergo and how these tissues can be used to replace epidermal tissues in limbs of human infants. Using a …

Scalable And Reliable Sparse Data Computation On Emergent High Performance Computing Systems, Zheng Miao

All Dissertations

Heterogeneous systems with both CPUs and GPUs have become important system architectures in emergent High Performance Computing (HPC) systems. Heterogeneous systems must address both performance-scalability and power-scalability in the presence of failures. Aggressive power reduction pushes hardware to its operating limit and increases the failure rate. Resilience allows programs to progress when subjected to faults and is an integral component of large-scale systems, but incurs significant time and energy overhead. The future exascale systems are expected to have higher power consumption with higher fault rates. Sparse data computation is the fundamental kernel in many scientific applications. It is suitable for …

Selected Interdiction Games With Uncertain, Risk-Averse, And Simultaneous Play Considerations, Di H. Nguyen

All Dissertations

This dissertation examines two network interdiction problems: a shortest-path interdiction problem under uncertainty and a network interdiction problem in a simultaneous game. Both problems happen in two stages over a directed network, and involve a leader and a follower who have opposing interests.

In the first problem, the leader acts first to lengthen a subset of arcs, and a follower acts second to select a shortest path across the network. The cost for a follower’s arc consists of a base cost if the arc is not interdicted, plus an additional cost that is incurred if the arc is interdicted. The …

Policy Complementarities Between And Within Jurisdictions: The Case Of Alcohol Consumption And Driving, Tabitha Knott

All Dissertations

Federalism allows multiple levels of government, such as counties, states, and nations, to control the same territory. The result is often differentiated policies across smaller jurisdictions, which inevitably create spillovers when goods can be purchased in one locality and not in another. The first chapter discusses how each of the subsequent chapters are related using this context.

The second chapter investigates how one jurisdiction's policy may diffuse across neighboring jurisdictions to mitigate spillover effects using evidence from Texas. Texas is one of 34 states that allow local jurisdictions to determine alcohol policies and regulations via local option referenda. A force …

Reactive Thin Film Polymers And Thin Film Composite Membranes For The Rapid Screening Of Uranium Isotopes, Abenazer W. Darge

All Dissertations

Traditional radiochemistry approaches for the detection of trace-level alpha-emitting radioisotopes in water require lengthy offsite sample preparations and do not lend themselves to rapid quantification. Therefore, a novel platform is needed that combines onsite purification, concentration, and isotopic screening with a fieldable detection system. My dissertation research objective was to develop novel reactive thin polymer films and thin film composite membranes for the selective separation of uranium from environmental water followed by direct isotopic analysis by alpha spectroscopy. Chapter 1 reviews progress made on uranium separation from aqueous matrices and discusses methods used for the determination of isotopic composition.

Chapter …

An Investigation Into The Roles Of Aldose Reductase And Acetate Kinase In The Metabolism Of Entamoeba Histolytica, Matthew B. Angel

All Dissertations

Entamoeba histolytica is an amoebic parasite that infects an estimated 90 million people worldwide and causes approximately 100,000 deaths per year. As the causative agent of amoebic dysentery, this food- and water-borne pathogen represents a significant public health burden worldwide, particularly in areas with poor sanitation. While treatments for amoebiasis exist, they are often limited in their effectiveness. Thus, efforts to better understand the biology and physiology of this organism are vital to the development of novel treatments for this disease.

E. histolytica lacks the enzymes for many common metabolic pathways such as the citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation …

Light Harvesting And Electrically Conducting Metal-Organic Frameworks, Monica Gordillo Varela

All Dissertations

Composed of metal clusters nodes and organic linkers, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as versatile platforms with unparalleled chemical and structural tunability, synthetic facility, permanent porosity, and size-selective guest encapsulation capability. These features make them potential candidates for a variety of applications such as gas storage,drug delivery, catalysis,and sensing. In recent years, the introduction of redox- and photoactive components have yielded stimuli-responsive electronic and photonic MOFs and expanded their utility in molecular electronics and energy storage devices/technologies.

Chapter one describes the light-harvesting ability of a porphyrin-based MOF. Herein, we have demonstrated spontaneous solvothermal growth of [100]-oriented uniform pillared-porphyrin framework-11 (PPF-11) …

Design And Analysis Of Efficient Freight Transportation Networks In A Collaborative Logistics Environment, Vishal Badyal

All Dissertations

The increase in total freight volumes, reducing volume per freight unit, and delivery deadlines have increased the burden on freight transportation systems of today. With the evolution of freight demand trends, there also needs to be an evolution in the freight distribution processes. Today's freight transportation processes have a lot of inefficiencies that could be streamlined, thus preventing concerns like increased operational costs, road congestion, and environmental degradation. Collaborative logistics is one of the approaches where supply chain partners collaborate horizontally or/and vertically to create a centralized network that is more efficient and serves towards a common goal or objective. …

Essays On Nonparametric Benchmarking Of Energy Firms And Natural Gas Market Integration, Matthew Cronin

All Dissertations

My dissertation focuses on issues related to the technical efficiency of energy firms as well as the integration of U.S. natural gas markets during the era of shale gas expansion of the early 2000s. In the first chapter, I use nonparametric methods to estimate changes in efficiency and productivity of natural gas pipelines in the U.S. during the period of shale gas expansion during 2007--2018. This period, known as the Shale Revolution, saw an increase in shale gas production from less that 5 billion cubic feet per day (BCF/d) in 2007 to over 60 BCF/d in 2018. This increase in …

Evaluation Of Kappa Opioid Receptor Specific Compounds And Their Effect On Ptsd-Like Behavioral Activity, Daniel Murnock

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex and multifaceted neurological disorder that is characterized by intrusive thoughts, avoidance behaviors, alterations in cognition and mood, and alterations in arousal and reactivity. Current studies utilize stress paradigms to mimic behavioral symptoms and neurobiological changes associated with PTSD. The project aims to instead utilize the kappa opioid system and three distinct Kappa Opioid Receptorspecific compounds (Salvinorin A, U50,488, and nor-BNI) to induce these changes. Pharmacokinetic analysis of Salvinorin A and U50,488 revealed a time of peak plasma concentration (Tmax) of 0.25 hours in both groups. 3-Chamber Social Novelty testing revealed a significant …

Suppression Of Microrna 124–3p And Microrna 340–5p Ameliorates Retinoic Acid-Induced Cleft Palate In Mice, Hiroki Yoshioka, Akiko Suzuki, Chihiro Iwaya, Junichi Iwata

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The etiology of cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P), a common congenital birth defect, is complex, with genetic and epigenetic, as well as environmental, contributing factors. Recent studies suggest that fetal development is affected by maternal conditions through microRNAs (miRNAs), a group of short noncoding RNAs. Here, we show that miR-129-5p and miR-340-5p suppress cell proliferation in both primary mouse embryonic palatal mesenchymal cells and O9-1 cells, a neural crest cell line, through the regulation of Sox5 and Trp53 by miR-129-5p, and the regulation of Chd7, Fign and Tgfbr1 by miR-340-5p. Notably, miR-340-5p, but not miR-129-5p, was upregulated …

Does Proactivity Drive Use? Understanding Growth In Chat Reference Services, David A. Hurley, Adrienne Warner

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Libraries that implement trigger-initiated proactive chat reference services see substantial increases in the number and complexity of reference transactions. However, it is not clear if this growth is a result of something inherent to proactivity, or other factors such as increased awareness of the service. To investigate this, we compare usage during periods with and without proactivity in databases in which our chat reference service is established. Steep and immediate increases when proactivity is enabled and sharp declines when it is disabled suggests that proactivity itself is driving the changes. We recommend human computer interaction (HCI) and user experience (UX) …

Innovadores Guaymíes: Un Estudio De Caso De Emprendedores En Una Sociedad De Menor Complejidad Socioeconómica., Milton R.A. Machuca-Gálvez Phd, Mlis, John R. Bort Phd

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Traducción al castellano de la disertación doctoral Guaymí Innovators: A Case Study of Entrepreneurs in a Small Scale Society de John R. Bort, presentada al Departamento de Antropología y la Escuela de Postgrado de la Universidad de Oregón, junio de 1976. Traducción de Milton Machuca-Gálvez, PhD, MLIS.

Se enfoca en el cambio socioeconómico en los indígenas guaymí del occidente de Panamá. Principalmente en cómo los guaymíes reaccionan a las cambiantes circunstancias económicas de su entorno. La mayor parte de los datos utilizados se obtuvieron mediante observación participante junto con materiales del censo que sirvieron para complementar el trabajo de campo. …

Techno-Economic Feasibility Analysis Of A Fully Mobile Radiation Oncology System Using Monte Carlo Simulation, Alex T. Price, Casey I. Canfield, Geoffrey D. Hugo, James A. Kavanaugh, Lauren E. Henke, Eric Laugeman, Pamela Samson, Clair Reynolds-Kueny, Elizabeth A. Cudney

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

PURPOSEDisparities in radiation oncology (RO) can be attributed to geographic location, socioeconomic status, race, sex, and other societal factors. One potential solution is to implement a fully mobile (FM) RO system to bring radiotherapy to rural areas and reduce barriers to access. We use Monte Carlo simulation to quantify techno-economic feasibility with uncertainty, using two rural Missouri scenarios.METHODSRecently, a semimobile RO system has been developed by building an o-ring linear accelerator (linac) into a mobile coach that is used for temporary care, months at a time. Transitioning to a more FM-RO system, which changes location within a given day, presents …

Hydration Of High-Alumina Calcium Aluminate Cements With Carbonate And Sulfate Additives, Jonathan Lapeyre, Sai Akshay Ponduru, Monday Uchenna Okoronkwo, Hongyan Ma, Aditya Kumar

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study investigated the influence of limestone (LS) and calcium sulfate (C$) mineral additives on the hydration kinetics of high-α-Al₂O₃ calcium aluminate cement (CAC) utilizing experimental techniques and thermodynamic simulations. Increasing the replacement level of limestone or calcium sulfate increased the cumulative heat of the hydration reaction. The limestone exhibited limited acceleratory effects to the CAC hydration kinetics due to the coarseness of the powder. The coarse particle size distribution limited any heterogenous nucleation that would have occurred with a finer particle size as well as the intrinsic insolubility kinetically limits the formation of monocarboaluminate phases. Conversely, …

Awakening To Beauty, Volume Viii, University Of Dayton. University Honors Program, Angela Ann Zukowski

Chaminade Scholars: Awakening to Beauty

Images and reflections of the members of the 2023 cohort of Chaminade Scholars. Published in May 2022.

Electronic Fingerprint Safe, Bryton Flecker, Carlos Bucheli, Tristan Arias

Mechatronics Final Projects

The objective for this project was to create a lockbox storage solution which used a fingerprint sensor (3) as the mechanism for locking and unlocking the device. A user of the device would have the ability to add or remove up to four fingerprints from the device while it is unlocked. As a backup measure for the event that a fingerprint is no longer recognized, the lockbox will have a preprogrammed PIN assigned to the device which the user can enter to unlock it. User input was implemented via a series of buttons (5) on the front panel of the …

Manifestations Of Myth In Antonin Dvořák’S Stabat Mater, Pia Marie Rodriguez

Music Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

A Remote-Controllable Robotics Platform Based On The Pic16f88 Microcontroller, Clyde Johnson, Matthew Roche, Max Ulmer

Mechatronics Final Projects

The goal of this mechatronics system design project is to create a simple robotics control and interface platform using a Microchip PIC processor. The intent is for this platform to be able to host a wide variety of simple sensors, displays, and outputs that can be carried around by its drive. The platform will be able to take in and interpret 2.4GHz remote-control signals.

For a novel twist on remote-control robotics, we have designed this robot to be encapsulated within an acrylic sphere. It is platformed on a 3D-printed chassis that holds upright its two geared DC motors that rest …

Vinyl Player, Cooper Adams, Joshua Geer, Drew Gray

Mechatronics Final Projects

The goal for our final project was to design and manufacture a record player capable of producing music using a 12 inch LP or 7-inch single vinyl record. When powered, the record player spins the vinyl at a specific speed, and using the needle sound vibrations are sent to an audio amplifier to output sound. A motor is used to control the desired speed and rotate the plate which the vinyl record is placed on. Figure 1 shows a simplified sketch of the needle cartridge system; the system consists of a needle and an attached magnet that is placed near …

Defenses In Dispute: The Bureaucratic And Domestic Politics Of The First Anti-Ballistic Missile Debate, Samuel D. Lair

History Honors Theses

Since the dawn of the missile age in the mid-1940s, policymakers have grappled with the question of whether and how to defend against ballistic missiles. The saga of the rise of the United States’ first anti-ballistic missile system, known initially as Sentinel and later as Safeguard, and its subsequent demise after the signing of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 1972, has been well cataloged by historians and strategic thinkers. Although many scholars present the story of this ABM system as the logical and inexorable consequence of the acceptance of deterrence theory and mutual vulnerability by the U.S and the Soviet …

The Story Of The Ziffersystem And The Russian Mennonites: Counting Blessings, Emily Grace Warkentin

Music Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Community Connections, May 2022, University Of Dayton. Fitz Center For Leadership In Community

Newsletter: Community Connections

No abstract provided.

Tennessee Jail Summary Report, May 2022, Tennessee. Department Of Correction.

Jail Summary Reports

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Microgravity On Human Endothelial Cells In Relation To Deep Vein Thrombosis, Allie Burgess

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a condition where blood clots form in one or more of the deep veins of the body, causing leg pain and/or swelling, potentially leading to pulmonary embolism and/or stroke. The incidence of DVT among astronauts serving on the International Space Station has been shown to be greater than that of the general population, calling into question the effects of microgravity on human thrombolytic processes. Additionally, microgravity conditions have been shown to cause muscular atrophy and a decrease in muscle strength and mobility. Because collagen composes a large portion of muscle tissue, this study also assessed …