Digital Commons Network^™

Uio-Type Metal-Organic Framework Derivatives As Sorbents For The Detection Of Gas-Phase Explosives, Matthew Ryan Sherrill

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The detection of energetic compounds – better known to the public as explosives – has is an important cornerstone of counterterrorism and homeland security . While significant advances have been achieved for the detection of trace explosives in various matrices such as soil, wastewater, and clothing, the detection of explosives in the gas phase remains challenging due to their infamously low vapor pressures. In this thesis, we leverage the high sensitivity of direct analysis in real-time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) and the microporosity of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to adsorb and therefore concentrate explosives from the vapor phase and subsequently detect them …

Fluorescent Biosensors : Engineering And Applications, Monica Rodriguez

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Neurons in the brain communicate via electrical and chemical synapses, whereneurotransmitters are released. Traditional methods to detect synaptic transmission rely on single-cell patch-clamp recordings from target neurons, but these can only provide an indirect readout of the lifetime of neurotransmitters in the extracellular space. More recently, this task has been aided by developing fluorescent biosensors with high sensitivity and large dynamic ranges. Fluorescent biosensors are typically composed of a neurotransmitter binding protein tagged with fluorescent reporter molecules. Fluorescence biosensors come in different forms, including FRET-based biosensors. These can be built using different intracellular signaling molecules and neurotransmitter binding domains. Here, …

New York City Micronet : Comprehensive Site Metadata And Classifications And Characteristics Of The Urban Heat Island, Ashley Williamson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The New York City Micronet (NYC Micronet), comprised of 17 stations, was installed in the Fall of 2020 for the purpose of long-term monitoring of climate change, and to provide support to utility operations for Consolidated Edison, Inc. (Con Edison). There are five additional standard NYS Mesonet stations located in NYC installed in late 2017. Co-located at the standard stations are three flux, and three profiler stations from sub-networks within the NYS Mesonet. With 22 different locations collecting 5-minute averaged data, this network becomes the highest spatial and temporal resolution urban meteorological network (UMN) of this quality in NYC. This …

Expertise Effects On Visual Change Detection In The Music Reading Domain : Evidence From Eye Movements, Abigail L. Kleinsmith

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Theoretical perspectives in the chess expertise literature, such as chunking and template theories, assume that experts acquire the ability to process domain-specific visual features as larger patterns. Eye tracking techniques can test predictions derived from these theories, because the eye movement record provides fine-grained information about where and when experts are looking during a domain-specific task. In this dissertation, I assessed the generalizability of chunking and template theories to the domain of music reading expertise with a novel music-related variant of the flicker paradigm. Across twoexperiments, I monitored the eye movements of 60 expert musicians (with at least 10 years …

Dynamic Instance-Wise Decision-Making For Machine Learning, Yasitha Warahena Liyanage

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In a typical supervised machine learning setting, the predictions on all test instances are based on a common subset of features discovered during model training. However, using a different subset of features that are most informative for each test instance individually may improve not only the quality of prediction but also the overall interpretability of the model. To this end, in this dissertation, we study the problem of optimizing the trade-off between instance-level sparsity and the quality of prediction using a dynamic instance-wise decision-making approach. Specifically, this approach sequentially reviews features one at a time for each data instance given …

Evaluating The Effects Of Virtual Professional Development And Teleconsultation In Teachers' Implementation Of Check-In/Check-Out, Rachel Kengle

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Check-in/check-out (CICO) is one of the most researched and implemented Tier 2 interventions, and there is ample research to indicate that it is efficient and effective. It has been noted that teachers typically do not successfully implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) after participating in traditional models of professional development (PD); however, research indicates that consultation improves teachers’ implementation of EBPs. Teleconsultation is new within schools, but there is evidence that it is an acceptable replacement for face-to-face consultation.

Cheating Detection In A Privacy Preserving Driving Style Recognition Protocol, Ethan Sprissler

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The growth of cloud-based services collecting user data for online analytical processing (OLAP), machine learning, and applications relating to the Internet of Things (IoT) has also increased concern with data privacy. Privacy-preserving data sharing using Secure Multiparty Communication (SMC) enables the exchange of encrypted data between parties to perform calculations while maintaining data privacy for both parties simultaneously. This research builds on established work that proposed a privacy-preserving driving style recognition protocol designed to work well with semi-honest actors. In this protocol, both parties follow the established algorithms and do not overtly attempt to deceive the other party into revealing …

Development And Applications Of Touch Chemistry Biometrics Analysis Of Latent Fingermarks By Maldi-Ms, Cameron M. Longo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Fingerprint evidence has long been a pillar of forensic science and has been used for over a century as a means of identifying an individual. This is accomplished through the comparison of friction ridge patterns, which are inherently unique to each individual, and the practice of visualizing fingerprints and comparing them has become a well-studied field. While these techniques have been optimized and improved over time, they generally rely only on the physical pattern to provide information about the donor, and not the content of the fingerprint material itself. In the modern era, steps have been made to extract from …

The Relationships Between Grit, Mindset, And The Academic Success Of Nontraditional Students At Online Colleges, David W. Franklin Jr

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Grit and mindset are two of the hottest topics in education today, but research on their predictive power for academic success is inconclusive and rife with gaps and limitations. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between grit, mindset, self-regulated learning (SRL), and academic outcomes for adult students attending online colleges. This was investigated using data from the Diagnostic Assessment and Achievement of College Skills (DAACS) project, and includes 9,276 undergraduate, mostly adult students from two online institutions in the United States. The results indicate that while grit, its two components, and mindset were significantly correlated with …

Discrimination Between Human And Non-Human Blood Using Raman Spectroscopy And A Self-Reference Algorithm For Forensic Purposes : Method Expansion And Validation, Harrison Dickler

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Determining whether the origin of a bloodstain is human or non-human is an important capability of a forensic investigation. In their pioneering work, Bian et al. (Journal of biomedical optics, 2017) introduced a self-reference peak algorithm for the analysis of bloodstain Raman spectra and demonstrated a great potential of this approach for differentiating human and nonhuman blood. However, this work only used three non-human species in the creation of their model. This study investigates the capability of a self-referencing peak algorithm to discriminate between human and 18 non-human species based on the Raman spectra of blood samples. The intensity ratios …

The Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Executive Functioning : An Adaptation-Based Perspective, Laura Morgan Welch

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The detrimental impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on executive functioning (EF) is well established. However, the common emphasis on impairments dulls the outlook for those who have experienced ACEs and overlooks potential developmental adaptations to stress. For example, more recently, researchers have found that childhood adversity may create stress-adapted skills that are functionally specialized for harsh, unpredictable environments. Thus, rather than solely cognitive impairments, stress-adapted youth may have enhanced EFs under stressful or uncertain conditions, when these skills would provide the greatest advantages. However, this effect has only been tested by inducing uncertain economic environments. More research is needed …

Methodology Studies For Dearomatized Dimer And Beta-Lactone-Mediated Native Chemical Ligation In Organic Synthesis, Xinhao Fan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Chapter 1: Dimers of naphthalenol derivatives were synthesized by photocatalysis, cobalt(II) acetylacetonate. Several functional groups were tolerant of its skeleton. This novel dimer was connected through a reversible sigma bond. Its reversibility was confirmed by chiral HPLC and 1H-NMR experiments. Through EPR and Stern-Volmer quenching experiments, we proposed the reaction mechanism. The reversibility property can be potentially beneficial in polymers, self-healing, and memory materials.Chapter 2: We report an epimerization-free native chemical ligation reaction by β-lactone-mediated peptides. This approach can achieve Thr-Xaa efficiently and rapidly. Besides, it has a broad side-chain tolerance. Through the competition reaction experiment, it was demonstrated that …

An Evaluation Of Demographic And Clinical Characteristics Of Youths Enrolled In Two Residential Treatment Programs, Monelle Shemique Thomas

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

AbstractModern-day residential treatment programs (RTPs) for children and adolescents have been present for over 70 years. These 24-hour treatment programs serve as a more restrictive placement for youths with severe social-emotional and behavioral difficulties that have exhausted the supports provided in the home, school, and community settings. In New York State, there exist two different types of RTPs for children and adolescents, residential treatment facilities (RTFs) and residential treatment centers (RTCs). There is limited research comparing these residential programs and the impact of differential funding on residents’ treatment program entry and outcomes. The current evaluation attempted to explore the similarities …

A Role Perspective Of Workplace Procrastination, Boran Li

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Although procrastination has been studied for over twenty years in the field of psychology, knowledge of workplace procrastination, developed from general procrastination, remains limited. Drawing from role theory, the current study aims to examine the positive relationship between role ambiguity and workplace procrastination through stress. It further examines the moderating role of work self-efficacy on the stress-procrastination relationship, such that higher work self-efficacy attenuates the positive relationship between stress and procrastination. Results from experimental data on 119 participants revealed that neither role ambiguity nor stress directly affects workplace procrastination, but individuals who have a higher level of self-efficacy at work …

Analysis Of Mitochondrial Codon Usage, Shelina Begum

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The human mitochondrial genome is circular and encodes for its own two ribosomal RNAs, 22 tRNAs and 13 proteins needed for oxidative phosphorylation. Although the mitochondria require nuclear proteins and machinery for transcription and translation, the translation of 13 mRNAs occurs within the mitochondria. The dysregulation of mitochondrial translation is associated with diseases like MELAS (Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes) and MERRF (Myoclonic epilepsy with ragged-red fibers), which can be caused by tRNA defects and lead to decreased translation of mitochondrial complex I proteins (MELAS). We have analyzed the codon usage of human mitochondrial genes and compared them …

The Mountain Gap Wind Of The Isthmus Of Tehuantepec And Its Impact On Tropical Cyclogenesis In The Eastern Pacific, Adolfo Lugo Rios

Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation we research two aspects of the mountain gap wind northerlies of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Southern Mexico. The causes of extreme gap wind northerlies, emphasizing the causes by tropical weather systems, like easterly waves troughs or hurricanes, and the impacts of an extreme gap wind events on tropical cyclogenesis.

Through the use of an index to diagnose the mountain gap wind strength, its evolution through the year and the mechanisms leading to extreme mountain gap winds was highlighted. The index revealed that the gap wind is strongly related to high surface pressure anomalies over the GoM …

Update On The Status Of Bald Eagles In Arizona, 2018-2022, Kyle Mccarty

Arizona Birds

No abstract provided.

Maternal Antifungal Use During Pregnancy : A Study Of Prevalence Of Use And The Risk Of Birth Defects, Eleni A. Papadopoulos

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Fungal infections, especially vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), are common among pregnant women. Therefore, it is important to study the effect that antifungal medications may have on the developing fetus. Recent studies have suggested there are positive associations between birth defects and specific oral antifungals. In this dissertation, maternal antifungal use during pregnancy was examined using data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS). The NBDPS was multi-site, population-based, case-control study and included women with estimated delivery dates during October 1997 through December 2011. It was designed to investigate risk factors associated with more than 30 categories of major birth defects. …

A Moderated Mediation Model : The Interplay Between Discrimination, Marianismo, Alcohol Use, And Culturative Stress Among Latina College Students, Yajaira A. Cabrera Tineo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Although alcohol use is on the rise among young Latina college students, little is known about drinking behaviors among this population. The present study sought to expand the current literature by examining (a) the mediating role of alcohol use in the relationship between perceived discrimination and acculturative stress, in addition to (b) competing models of conditional moderated mediation between perceived discrimination, alcohol use, marianismo beliefs, and acculturative stress, while accounting for nativity. Path analyses were conducted with data from 1243 Latina students between the ages of 18 and 25 from college campuses across the U.S. Mediation analyses indicated that alcohol …

A Novel Phase And Spectroscopic Imaging Technique To Evaluate Cellular Functions, Ting Chean Khoo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This thesis presents the application of Raman spectroscopy, digital holographic microscope (DHM) and transport intensity equation (TIE) in imaging biological samples. Raman spectroscopy is a non-destructive technique that can provide chemical structure, concentration, temperature, and molecular interactions. On the other hand, DHM and TIE provide physical measurements such as height, width, area and volume.We applied Raman spectroscopy to study iron-bound transferrin (Tf) in intact human breast cancer cells. Iron is an essential element required for human life and is highly regulated in the body. As the exact mechanisms of iron-bound Tf in cells are not well known, we developed a …

Genomic Epidemiology Of Clinical Salmonella Enterica In New Hampshire, 2017-2020, Madison R. Turcotte

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella enterica remains a challenging public health threat. We aim to characterize the population structure and evolutionary history of 394 genomes of S. enterica isolates recovered from human clinical cases in New Hampshire, USA from 2017 to 2020. The population is phylogenetically diverse, consisting of 78 STs and 67 serotypes. We detected 61 genes associated with resistance to14 different antimicrobial classes. Rather than a single multidrug resistant clone expanding in the state, we found multiple lineages carrying different combinations of independently acquired resistance determinants. New or emerging lineages can therefore rapidly spread over relatively short timeframes. In …

Examining The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Birth Outcomes In Onondaga County, New York, Simone A. Seward

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Background: Preterm birth (PTB), defined as births that occur prior to 37 completed weeks of gestation, and low birth weight (LBW), defined as an infant born with a birthweight of < 5.5 lbs or 2,500 grams, have been identified as significant contributors to the high infant morbidity and mortality rate in the United States (U.S.). The etiology of PTB and LBW is complex, and multifaceted. Linkages have been made to several categorical risk factors related to socio-demographics, medical, behavioral, psychosocial, and environmental pathways. Given the known risk factors, the current COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns from public health officials and clinicians about the short-and long-term impact on the health and well-being of pregnant women and their birth outcomes. Study Purpose: The purpose of the study was to: 1) examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on preterm birth (PTB) and low birthweight (LBW) in Onondaga County, NY; and 2) determine the potential impact of psychosocial factors, particularly maternal depression and social support, on PTB and LBW. Guided by the Integrated Socio-Environmental Model of Health and Well-being (ISEM), The Life Course Perspective (LCP), concepts of allostatic load and the weathering hypothesis, the study recognizes the numerous factors, over the life course, that co-occur and can synergistically contribute to or moderate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on birth outcomes. Methodology: The study utilized a mixed methods approach to answer the four research questions. For the quantitative component, the study utilized relevant data elements obtained from the Statewide Perinatal Data System (SPDS) during February 1, 2019 through March 31, 2021 for secondary data analysis. For the qualitative component, 20 key informant interviews were conducted to investigate and describe the health care and social support experiences of individuals who delivered in Onondaga County, NY before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Results from the bivariate analysis indicated a statistically significant association between lack of prenatal care, lack of social support, maternal depression and both PTB and LBW (all p <.0001). Exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic was not significantly associated with either LBW or PTB (p=0.2289 and p=0.2932, respectively). The analysis yielded no statistically significant difference in the rates of LBW (p= 0.2289) or PTB (p=0.2932) between the two cohorts. The major themes that emerged from the interviews related to prenatal care experience were: Preparing for Pregnancy, Feeling Supported by their Health Care Provider, Restrictive COVID-19 Policies, Dealing with the Unknown, and Self-Advocacy. The major themes related to social support experience were: Personal Relationships during Pregnancy, Forms of Social Support during pregnancy, and Pandemic Impact on Social Support. Overlapping themes were identified between the two cohorts. Study Significance: The findings from this study have implications for public health and clinical practice, public health policy, and future research. The findings from this study emphasize the need for a range of accessible, affordable options for pregnancy-related care and social support, especially during stressful life events, like a pandemic. This study contributes to the growing literature on the COVID-19 pandemic by providing an analysis of the factors (risk and protective) which could moderate or mediate the effects of a public health crisis on birth outcomes. The strength of the study lies in the triangulation of data to research a persistent public health issue and health disparity during a widespread public health crisis.

Exploring Academic Procrastination With Digital Trace Data, Semih Bursali

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Procrastination is a well-known phenomenon experienced by a lot of people in everyday life. People sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally put off their tasks even though they might be worse off due to the delay (e.g., not paying bills due, even though they have sufficient funds in their bank account). It is safe to say everybody procrastinates at some point, but in academia the rate is relatively higher. This dissertation is an exploratory study of the relationship and differences between self-reported academic procrastination and observed procrastination in relation to students’ achievement goal orientations and self-regulated learning. A time-management/productivity mobile application (Proccoli) …

Developing High-Resolution Meteorological Datasets To Assess The Short-Term Association Between Meteorological Factors And Green Space And Mental Disorders, Xinlei Deng

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Global climate change is linked to the frequency and intensity of local climate extremes such as heatwaves, cold spells, and flooding. Scientific evidence indicates that heatwaves and higher ambient temperature could increase the risk of hospital admission and emergency department (ED) visits for mental disorders (MDs). On the other hand, urban green space is considered a way to reduce heat island effects and provide comfort for area residents. However, there still exist huge research gaps. Except for temperature, few studies have examined how other meteorological factors (relative humidity (RH), solar radiation (SR), heat index (HI), and rainfall) are associated with …

System Measurements For X-Ray Phase And Diffraction Imaging, Erik Wolfgang Tripi

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In medical imaging, X rays are used to look inside the body to find fractures in bones, abnormal masses, cavities in teeth, and so on. What makes X rays so good at looking at these types of structures is the X ray’s penetration power. When imaging soft tissue to search for tumors, X-ray images tend to have difficulty performing well. The reason for this is that the background structures, such as fat or fibro glandular tissue have similar absorption coefficients as the tumor. Mammography tends to have a high false positive rate and can miss tumors entirely as well. There …

The Urban Heat Island Of Bengaluru, India : Characteristics, Trends, And Mechanisms, Heather Samantha Sussman

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The urban heat island (UHI) effect refers to how urban surfaces tend to be warmer than nearby non-urban areas due to less vegetation and other processes. UHIs can increase the risk of heat and respiratory illnesses. Since every city is unique, UHIs should be studied on a local-scale. One particular city that has not had its UHI comprehensively evaluated is Bengaluru, India. Bengaluru was once known as the “Garden City” of India due to a wide presence of gardens and public parks, but is now known as the “Silicon City” of India due to the overwhelming presence of the information …

Effects Of Early Bilingualism On Theory Of Mind Development Among Children In Economic Adversity, Rong Huang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The present study investigated the associations between bilingualism and Theory of Mind (ToM) development among children from low-income backgrounds. ToM is the capacities of understanding others’ mental states, such as beliefs, knowledge, or emotions, which develops rapidly during early childhood. Previous studies showed that bilingual experience may be associated with an enhanced ToM, while it is less known whether the similar effect can be generalized to the low-income populations. In addition, it remained unclear what role of Executive Function (EF) plays in the relationship between bilingualism and Theory of Mind in economically disadvantaged environments. The current study aims to address …

“It's (Not) Like The Flu”: Expert Narratives And The Covid-19 Pandemic In Mainland China, Hong Kong, And The United States, Larry Au, Zheng Fu, Chuncheng Liu

Publications and Research

We trace the crafting of expert narratives during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and the United States. By expert narratives, we refer to how experts drew different lessons from past disease experiences to guide policymakers and the public amidst uncertainty. These expert narratives were mobilized in different sociopolitical contexts, resulting in varying configurations of expertise networks and allies that helped contain and mitigate COVID-19. In Mainland China, experts carefully advanced a managed narrative, emphasizing the new pandemic akin to the 2003 SARS outbreak can be managed while destressing the similar mistakes the government …

Accelerated Master Of Accountacy, 2022-23, Arkansas State University - Jonesboro

Master's Level Degrees

No abstract provided.

Elucidating The Role Of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 In Lung Stem Cell Fate And Lung Disease, Aria Byrd

Theses and Dissertations--Toxicology and Cancer Biology

The average human lungs take ~22,000 breaths and inhale ~2,000 gallons of air each day. This organ is the primary conduit for the transfer of oxygen to the internal organs, making it crucial for the sustainment of life. Consequently, mechanical malfunction of the lungs and/or pollution of inhaled air negatively impact internal organ function and ultimately put survival in jeopardy. Epigenetics, by nature, is a plastic phenomenon in which environmental stimuli influence short term, long term, and generational gene expression patterns. Chronic exposure of harmful stimuli to the lung epithelium has also been shown to alter epigenetic pathways, engender aberrant …