Browsing Theses and Dissertations by Submit Date
Now showing items 1-20 of 10186
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Analyzing the bistability of the minimally bistable ERK network using the discriminant locus
(2022-04-18)The extracurricular signal regulated kinase (ERK) system is a biological signaling network with “important roles in regulating cellular activity." For this project, we will analyze the bistability, i.e, its capacity to ... -
Employing Neural Language Models and A Bayesian Hierarchical Framework for Classification and Engagement Analysis of Misinformation on Social Media
(2022-04)While social media can be an effective tool for maintaining personal relationships and making global connections, it has become a powerful force in the damaging spread of misinformation, especially during universally difficult ... -
Supporting Underserved Landowners in the Southeast with Conservation and Economic Goals
(2022-12-16)African American and other “historically underserved” landowners, as defined in the 2008 Farm Bill, have experienced unprecedented rates of agricultural and forest land loss due in large part to discrimination by the United ... -
Magic school bus, deploy! Cleaner air and cost savings in North Carolina with electric school buses.
(2022-12-16)The purpose of this project is to evaluate ways to assist the deployment of electric school buses (ESB) across the state on behalf of the client, the North Carolina Clean Energy Fund (NCCEF). In part one of this report, ... -
Legacy Pb contamination in the soils of three Durham city parks: Do secondary forest organic horizons effectively blanket Pb in city park soils contaminated by historic waste incineration?
(2022-12-16)Lead (Pb) has historically been used in many products such as gasoline, paint, batteries, ceramics, pipes and plumbing, solders, and cosmetics, and Pb contamination from these materials and their waste streams is widespread ... -
RURAL GABONESE USES AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH NATURAL RESOURCES AND ANIMALS
(2022-12-16)Human relationships and perceptions of nature and wildlife differ greatly across the modern world. These relationships are dependent on a variety of complex factors and conditions such as daily use, proximity, culture, ... -
CLIMATE IN THE PULPIT: EFFECTIVENESS OF SERMONS TO INFLUENCE ATTITUDES ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND CREATION CARE
(2022-12-16)As moral messengers and trusted institutions, houses of worship can be effective messengers on climate change and “creation care.” The sermon provides a uniquely impactful place for an intervention into the educational life ... -
Impacts of Genetic Variation and Silvicultural Treatments on Loblolly Pine Water Use
(2022-12-15)Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) is of high ecological and economical value in the U.S. for its abundance and rapid growth. P. taeda has adapted to a wide range of sites, exhibiting considerable plasticity in its physiology and ... -
Viability and improvement of constructive wildlife corridors in tropical forests, proposing a new method for evaluating corridors geospatially using MaxEnt
(2022-12-14)Habitat corridor ecology remains a new and developing field in wildlife and forest management. Little is known about how corridors statistically work or how they should be established and monitored. Stuart Pimm and his non-profit ... -
A Site Prioritization for Shortleaf Pine Restoration in Duke Forest
(2022-12-10)Historically, shortleaf pine forests spanned some 70-80 million acres in the U.S. Since then, the species has declined dramatically—today, only 6 million acres of shortleaf-dominated forests remain, roughly 10 percent of ... -
Co-effects of Transportation Means and Air Quality on Neurological, Pulmonary, and Cardiovascular Function
(2021-04-15)The guidelines on outdoor activities in the presence of air pollution vary. We aim to find out the effects of walking and air pollution among young adults. We conducted a randomized, 3-session cross-over trial, with 28 healthy ... -
Artificial Intelligence for added value in the creation, implementation, and evaluation of national export strategies
(2022-04-22)A National Export Strategy (NES) is an action plan that sets priorities, allocates resources, and specifies actions to strengthen an economy’s international trade capabilities, seeking to enhance its economic growth and ... -
Phonon Anharmonicity and Phase Transitions in Perovskites
(2022)Lattice dynamics and phonon quasi-particles are commonly used to describe atomic vibrations in crystalline materials, typically within a harmonic approximation. However, anharmonicity is crucial to understand the thermal ... -
Altered Stakes: identifying gaps in the psychedelic-assisted therapy research informed consent process
(2022)Nearly 60% of the US population experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder have not received a meaningful clinical response from traditional interventions (Akiki & Abdallah, 2018). Early research using psychedelics in tandem ... -
Blood Pressure Control by Multi-Component Intervention: An Exploratory Mediation Analysis of the SingHypertension Trial
(2022)Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death and disease burden globally. Hypertension, one of CVDs’ most important risk factors, becomes a global health challenge due to its growing prevalence and severe ... -
Optimizing the Network Sampling With Memory Algorithm
(2022)Network Sampling with Memory (NSM), a novel sampling method that extends existing Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) methods, is becoming increasingly attractive to sociologists, demographers, and others to sample ... -
Further Reduction of the Fundamental Mistuning Model Using Mistuned Aeroelastic Modes
(2018)Despite decades of research and attention to the problem of mistuning in bladed disks, both industry and academic efforts have yet to yield a comprehensive design solution for the phenomenon. Regardless, reduced order models ... -
Synthesis of 3D Realistic High-resolution Lung Background Textures Using a Conditional Generative Adversarial Network (CGAN)
(2022)Objectives: We develop machine-learning based methods to synthesize lung textures within computational phantoms for improved realism in simulating high-resolution patient CT imaging data to evaluate and improve imaging devices ... -
Modeling and Design of Assured and Adaptive Cyber-Physical Systems
(2022)Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) feature synergetic integration of multiple subsystems to control physical environments through cycles of sensing and actuation. The correct-by-design paradigm aims to provide guarantees on the ... -
Fighting for Life: War Trauma, Healing, and Ritual Communities in the American Pacific Northwest
(2022)This dissertation traces the complex connections between violence, trauma, healing, and medicalization in North America. The project connects to conversations in medical anthropology and American studies, and intersects ...