Masters Theses
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Item3-Linkage on the Projective Plane(Middle Tennessee State University, 2024) Jones, William ; Stephen’s, David C ; Ye, Dong ; Hart, JamesThis thesis will provide some brief background information in the fields of Graph Theory and Algebraic Topology, a short history of linkage problems, and then a new result for 3-linked graphs embedded in the projected plane. First we will prove some Algebraic Topology results, importantly that a punctured projective plane is homoemorphic to an open m\"{o}bius band. Then in the Graph Theory section, we will provide a proof of Menger's Theorem. Next, we will discuss the results near to that of this thesis, including the 2-linkage theorem and an extremal function of $k$-linkage. Finally, we will describe one structure which ensures three-linkage on the projected plane. Three-linkage is defined as follows: a graph $G$ is three-linked if for any three pairs $(s_1,t_1)$, $(s_2,t_2)$, $(s_3,t_3)$ of vertices in $G$, there exist vertex disjoint paths $P_1,P_2,P_3$ such that for $1\leq i \leq 3$, $P_i$ links $s_i$ to $t_i$. In this paper we will provide a classification of 5 conected graphs embedded in the projected plane with face-width at least 5. Namely, we will prove that if $G$ is a 5-connected graph embedded in the projective plane with face width at least 5, then $G$ is three-linked if and only if $G-s_3$ has has a specific structure.
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Item4-Bit Cellular Automata Encryption Analysis(Middle Tennessee State University, 2017-07-13) Leitner, Dallas ; Salman, Karim ; Boles, Walter ; Sbenaty, Saleh ; Engineering TechnologyForms of cellular automata have been used for decades in various niches. One such use is random number generation for data encryption. There are numerous ways that have been developed for this purpose, but they are largely centered on the use of the 3-bit rule space. While this rule space has been tested and proven to possess the desired traits, limiting CA to only the 3-bit rule space severely limits the potential for extreme levels of complexity. To that end, this research aims to explore the 4-bit rule space to find new potential rules that possess the desired level of complexity with the hope that the methods used can be applied to still greater rule spaces.
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Item4-Bit Cellular Automata Encryption Analysis(Middle Tennessee State University, 2017-07-13) Leitner, Dallas ; Salman, Karim ; Boles, Walter ; Sbenaty, Saleh ; Engineering TechnologyForms of cellular automata have been used for decades in various niches. One such use is random number generation for data encryption. There are numerous ways that have been developed for this purpose, but they are largely centered on the use of the 3-bit rule space. While this rule space has been tested and proven to possess the desired traits, limiting CA to only the 3-bit rule space severely limits the potential for extreme levels of complexity. To that end, this research aims to explore the 4-bit rule space to find new potential rules that possess the desired level of complexity with the hope that the methods used can be applied to still greater rule spaces.
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ItemA Brief History of the Preventorium: Architectural and Other Challenges of Preserving the Children’s Preventorium(Middle Tennessee State University, 2024) Brickel, Samantha ; Van West, Caroll ; Pruitt, LisaBeginning in the 1970s, with assessments increasing in number in the 1980s and 1990s, historic preservationists have studied sanitoriums, small and large, across the United States. Almost no attention has been given to preventoriums, which were institutions that housed those with latent or bone and joint tuberculosis. These institutions represent a significant period of American medicine and understanding this resource’s significance was the primary purpose of the thesis. It combines both architectural survey and primary resources to make the case for the future preservation and interpretation of preventoriums.
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ItemA Categorical Equivalence between Digraphs and Tripartite Posets(Middle Tennessee State University, 2023) Crowell, Jordan Lee ; Hart, James ; Hart, James ; Martin, Mary ; Stephens, ChrisIn this thesis we construct a categorical equivalence between the category of quivers and a the category whose objects consist of a subset of tripartite posets. This result takes ideas from Tucker Dowell’s thesis: The Category of Finite Incidence Posets[2] and applies them in a new arena.
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ItemA COBALT OXIDE CARBON NANOTUBE COMPOSITE FOR DOPAMINE DETECTION(Middle Tennessee State University, 2018) Kader, Mohammad Salauddin ; ChemistryDopamine (DA) is a catecholamine and performs as a neurotransmitter in the human body. Dopamine plays an important role in the process of many biological networks. Research showed that unusual amounts of DA can cause several neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, and other mental disorder. Cobalt oxide (CoO) particles were tethered to carboxylic-acid-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (COOH-MWNT) using sonication. The resulting composite (CoO/COOH-MWNT) was applied to glassy carbon electrodes for detecting DA within the 0.5-5 µM range and 10-100 µM range. Current versus concentration was measured using cyclic voltammetry. Different parameters such as loading, pH and sonication times (0 to 60 min) were varied to optimize current response. Good selectivity was found against uric acid and ascorbic acid. The (CoO/COOH-MWNT) composite was characterized by attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR), Raman spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).
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ItemA comparative study of stress physiology in the common watersnake (Nerodia sipedon), the diamondback watersnake (Nerodia rhombifer), and the queen snake (Regina septemvittata).(Middle Tennessee State University, 2018-04-13) McCallie, Katharine Louise ; Klukowski, Matthew ; Cobb, Vincent ; Otter, Ryan ; BiologyVertebrates respond to stressors in part by increasing the secretion of glucocorticoids from the adrenal gland. Both intrinsic and extrinsic factors (e.g., age, sex, season) have been shown to influence glucocorticoid secretion within a species, but understanding of species differences in glucocorticoid secretory patterns is limited. In this study, I examined corticosterone, progesterone, and testosterone levels in the common watersnake (Nerodia sipedon), the diamondback watersnake (Nerodia rhombifer), and the queen snake (Regina septemvittata) at a capture baseline and in response to an acute 30 minute confinement stress. I also examined the same steroids in Nerodia sipedon subjected to three weeks of laboratory housing, a known chronic stressor. All three species exhibited elevated corticosterone in response to acute stress but baseline and post- stress levels varied among species. Overall, Nerodia sipedon and Nerodia rhombifer exhibited similar corticosterone and testosterone levels both at capture baseline and after 30 minutes of confinement stress. Regina septemvittata had substantially higher corticosterone levels than the two Nerodia species. Nerodia sipedon subjected to chronic stress showed no significant changes in corticosterone levels from the baseline to post-lab housing, suggesting downregulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis and glucocorticoid production.
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ItemA Comparative Study on Two Strategies for Distributed Classification(Middle Tennessee State University, 2018-05-30) Xu, Honglan ; Wu, Qiang ; Hong, Don ; Liu, Yeqian ; Green, Lisa ; Basic & Applied SciencesDistributed learning is an effective tool to process big data. An easy and effective distributed learning approach is the divide and conquer method. It first partitions the whole data set into multiple subsets. A base learning algorithm is then applied to each subset. Finally the results from these subsets are coupled together. In the classification setting, many classification algorithms can be used in the second stage. Typical ones include the logistic regression and support vector machines. For the third stage, both voting and averaging can be used as the coupling strategies. In this thesis, empirical studies are done to thoroughly compare the effectiveness of these two coupling strategies. Averaging is found to be more effective in most scenarios.
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ItemA Comparison of Ageist Lyrics in Country and Pop Music Genres: An Important Difference(Middle Tennessee State University, 2024) Brummer, Karen ; Leggett, Ida F. ; Wallace, Brandon ; Reish, GregoryThis study examined the lyrics of American country and pop music for an understanding of the perceptions and implied truths related to the concept of aging. A review was made of the limited prior research available regarding ageist lyrics as well as prior research exposing the consequences of the use of ageist stereotypes. Songs for this study were selected from the Billboard Top 100 lists for the past 10 years with a total of 33 songs containing either an implicit or explicit reference to aging: 16 country and 17 pop songs. Using a qualitative content analysis approach, song lyrics in each genre were evaluated in terms of positive and negative attitudes related to aging. Recurring themes of optimism, pessimism, acceptance, fear, vitality, loss, respect, and love expectations were found. Conclusions drawn from this research study indicate the majority of country song lyrics present images of aging in a positive light, whereas pop song lyrics continue to focus on negative stereotypes. Based on this observation and research provided on the negative consequences of reinforced stereotypes, my research demonstrates the potential victimization of us all as we age if negative stereotypes with respect to aging are perpetuated in music, especially in the pop genre.
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ItemA COMPARISON OF PARALLEL IMPLEMENTATIONS OF PATHFINDING ALGORITHMS(Middle Tennessee State University, 2021) Johnson, Charles W ; Pettey, Chrisila ; Seo, Suk ; Aderholdt, FerrolPathfinding algorithms are in constant use today – be it for generating driving directions or maintaining the routing tables that are used for routing traffic around the Internet. As would be expected, a given algorithm’s performance varies depending upon both the type and the scale of the application. Additionally, the use of parallel computing techniques may or may not decrease the runtime for a given problem. This thesis examines three commonly used pathfinding algorithms – Dijkstra, Bellman-Ford, and Floyd-Warshall – and seeks to illustrate their strengths and weaknesses when analyzing graphs that range from small and sparse to large and dense in various parallel computing environments. As well, focus is given to the use of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) as parallel computing devices themselves and the consequential reduction in the amount of hardware necessary for a given task.
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ItemA COMPARISON OF RICE BRAN OIL AND CORN OIL IN THE EQUINE DIET(Middle Tennessee State University, 2019) Garrick, Morgan Wright ; Agribusiness and AgriscienceRice bran oil (RBO) has gained attention as a fat and potential antioxidant supplement, but there is limited research examining this supplement in the equine diet. This study compared the effect of RBO versus corn oil (CO) on non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and triglyceride (TG) concentrations, rump fat (RF), forearm (ARM) and gaskin (GAS) circumference, and total antioxidant status (TAS) in lightly exercised horses. Twelve mature horses were randomly assigned to a cross-over design where they received either RBO or CO at a rate of 324 mg/kg BW/d for 35 days. After 5 weeks of supplementation, the horses were given a 3-week washout period with no oil supplement, followed by 35 days of the opposing treatment. During both periods, on days 0, 17, and 35, RF, GAS and ARM circumference, and BW were measured and blood was obtained. Serum NEFA, TAS, and TG were analyzed. No differences were found in RBO vs CO in any variables measured, BW (P = 0.11), RF (P = 0.68), GAS (P = 0.70), ARM (P = 0.33), TG (P = 0.70), NEFA (P = 0.46), or TAS (P = 0.16). The current study indicates that RBO has similar effects to CO when fed as a fat supplement to horses.
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ItemA COMPARISON OF SERIAL VERSUS PARALLEL ALGORITHMS FOR ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS(Middle Tennessee State University, 2016-03-24) Reavis, Gregg ; Gu, Yi ; Pettey, Chrisila ; Yoo, Sung ; Computer ScienceThe majority of low-end sensors in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) operate on batteries, which either cannot be replaced or are not practical to replace. Therefore, it is important to measure the total energy consumption in WSNs, in order to minimize power consumption and maximize network lifespan. Many researchers have been devoting their efforts into this area, which shows that a heterogeneous network produces a better solution to prolonging the network lifespan. So far as we know, the algorithms for minimizing the energy consumption have all been implemented in serial algorithms. In this work, we propose a parallel programming approach for optimizing the minimum energy consumption and maximizing the lifespan of WSNs. The results from an extensive set of experiments on a large number of simulated sensor networks illustrate the performance superiority of the proposed parallel approach over an existing serial algorithm and confirms a parallel solution will provide faster results.
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ItemA Comparison of the Perceptions and Experiences of Undergraduate Students, Graduate Students, and Instructors in College and University Psychology Programs(Middle Tennessee State University, 2021) Ganus, Sean Dylan ; Loveless, James ; Contreras, Bethany ; Pennington, JohnExtending the methods of previous research comparing the experiential perceptions of undergraduate and graduate psychology students by ethnic and gender identity, two survey instruments were developed for the purpose of comparing the experiential perceptions of psychology students with the experiential perceptions of psychology instructors by ethnic and gender identity. In contrast to earlier research, no significant differences were found in between undergraduate and graduate psychology student perceptions in relation to perceptions of ethnic diversity in academic environments. Additionally, no significant correlation was found between student satisfaction and reported student ethnic identity, student satisfaction and mentoring by instructors, encountered encouragement or barriers, perceived ethnic representation in psychology, and perceived ethnic and gender diversity in academic environments. Qualitatively, undergraduate and graduate students generally aligned in their experiential perceptions except with reported mentoring, with graduate students reporting having experienced greater degrees of mentoring. Additionally, graduate students reported lesser degrees of diversity in both psychology and their immediate academic environments. Instructor responses differed from undergraduate responses regarding mentoring, with undergraduates generally reporting having not been mentored by psychology instructors, and instructors reporting having mentored undergraduate and graduate students. Further refinement of the survey instruments used in the project is needed before the instruments can serve as effective tools to assist in gauging perceived representation and diversity in college and university psychology programs.
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ItemA Computational Electrostatic Modeling Pipeline for Comparing pH-dependent gp120-CD4 Interactions in Founder and Chronic HIV Strains(Middle Tennessee State University, 2017-03-24) Howton, Jonathan ; Phillips, Joshua ; Barbosa, Sal ; Wright, Stephen ; Computer ScienceThough Human Immunodeficiency Virus has been studied for several decades, a consistently
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ItemA Content Analysis of Advertising by Popular Online Sports Betting Companies(Middle Tennessee State University, 2024) Barney, Victor ; Taylor, Matthew P ; Hall, Andrea ; Reineke, JasonThis study applies McCraken’s (1986) Meaning Transfer Model (MTM) to analyze popular metaphors used in sports betting advertisements. It examines four dominant metaphors and how some attributes from sport can be transferred to sports betting advertisements. The four metaphors that will inform this study are Betting is Loving, Betting as a Sport, Betting as a Natural Environment, and Betting as a Market which come from Lopez-Gonzalez et al. (2017). By examining the way these metaphors frame sports betting as a source of income, competitive, emotional, and instinctual activity, this study highlights how sports betting advertisements use popular narratives to shape consumer perceptions and behaviors. The MTM provides a lens to understand how these metaphors not only influence attitudes towards sports betting, but also strengthen the association between sports and gambling. This is further complicated by the rise in sports betting advertisements, persuasive roles of the media, and celebrity endorsements. The findings suggest that while these metaphors enhance engagement, they also raise concerns about the normalization and potential risks associated with gambling behavior.
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ItemA COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION IN THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY(Middle Tennessee State University, 2016-06-23) Okwera, Peter ; Beckman, Wendy ; Georgiou, Andrea ; AerospaceABSTRACT
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ItemA Cross-Cultural Comparison of US and Chinese Students' Perceptions of School Safety(Middle Tennessee State University, 2016-08-15) Gong, Rong ; Marshall, Seth ; Rust, James ; Jin, Ying ; PsychologyThere is currently a lack of international cross-cultural research that compares students’ perception of school safety. To address this, the current study compared US and Chinese high school students’ perception of school safety. Participants (N= 5,377) were recruited from three high schools in China (n= 1,289) and 12 high schools in the US students (n= 4,088). To assess students’ perceptions of school safety, each student was administered the Modified Delaware School Climate Survey-Student (Yang et al., 2013), a measure that includes a school safety subscale among others. For the cross-cultural purposes of this study, the instrument was translated into Mandarin Chinese using a double-back translation method. Using independent t tests, results indicated that Chinese high school students’ perceptions of school safety were significantly higher than US peers. This finding was consistent across grade level and gender. Results are discussed in terms of important cross-cultural outlook dimensions that may account for the school safety perception differences.
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ItemA Disaster Veterinary Contingency Plan Utilizing the One Health Model and The World Organization for Animal Health Guidelines(Middle Tennessee State University, 2023) Anderson, Devon ; Owusu, Andrew ; Wrye, BethanyNatural disasters have become increasingly prevalent, disasters in 2022 exceeded $165.0 billion and was the third most costly year on record, behind 2017 and 2005. These calamities inflict various traumas upon companion animals, including injury, emotional distress, abandonment, and loss. While several established frameworks exist internationally to provide education, training, and contingency plan guidance for disaster management in veterinary services, the United States lacks access to many of these resources. This project aims to address this gap by developing a contingency plan for the Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG), a chain of emergency veterinary hospitals in the United States that has created a veterinary emergency travel team. The plan will be based on The One Health model and The World Organization for Animal Health guidelines, serving as a comprehensive framework for disaster management. Additionally, the plan will incorporate a detailed communication structure utilizing the Internal Communication System. By leveraging existing frameworks and establishing an effective communication system, this project seeks to enhance the preparedness and response capabilities of the veterinary community during disasters, ultimately improving outcomes for both humans and animals.
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ItemA DIVERGENCE TIME ANALYSIS OF BUTTERFLIES IN THE PARADIGM OF THE PLEISTOCENE REFUGIA HYPOTHESIS(Middle Tennessee State University, 2020) Tate, Alexander DelacySeveral hypotheses have been proposed to explain the diversity and distribution of organisms. A leading hypothesis for biodiversity in the Neotropics, the Pleistocene Refugia Hypothesis (PRH), suggests that a series of climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene Epoch (2.6 mya – 12 kya) produced glacial cycles that periodically isolated plant communities into “islands”. These islands of suitable habitat surrounded by areas of relatively inhospitable habitat became refugia for organisms that required those specific plant communities, and speciation occurred when populations were isolated. I examined whether or not diversity of extant species of butterflies can be explained by the PRH. To do so, I identified pairs of sister species from previously published phylogenies, and used a molecular clock, based on the mitochondrial DNA CO1 sequence, to infer divergence times for each sister pair. Most species (83%) I examined diverged during the Pleistocene; thus, my data complement a growing body of evidence in support of the PRH.
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ItemA Dual Categorical Equivalence between DiGraph Posets and DiGraph Lattices(Middle Tennessee State University, 2023) Srour, Nada ; Hart, James ; Stephens, Chris ; Ye, Dong ; Saunders, JohnIt is well known that there is an incidence poset associated with every directed graph. The problem is that this poset doesn’t encode enough information to recreate our directed graph. In his thesis, Crowell solved this problem by considering tripartite posets whose middle elements covers and exactly covered by one element, and which possess a bijection between the maximal elements and the minimal ones. Crowell proved a categorical equivalence between the category DiGraph and the category DiGraph posets [1]. We extend this idea to lattices and we establish a dual categorical equivalence between the categories DiGraph Posets and DiGraph lattices. This will implies a dual categorical equivalence between the categories DiGraph and DiGraph lattices.