Oil spills are well-known adverse anthropogenic events, as they can induce severe impacts on the environment and negative economic consequences. Still, much remains to be learned regarding the effects of crude oil exposure to aquatic organisms. The objectives of this dissertation were to fill some of those knowledge gaps by examining the effects of Deepwater Horizon (DWH) crude oil exposure on teleost kidney development and function. To this end, I analyzed how these effects translate into potential osmoregulatory impairments and investigated the interactive effects of ubiquitous natural factors, such as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and ultraviolet (UV) light, on acute crude oil toxicity. Results demonstrated that acute early life stage (ELS) crude oil exposure induces developmental defects to the primordial kidney in teleost fish (i.e., the pronephros) as evident by alterations in: (1) transcriptional responses of key genes involved in pronephros development and function and (2) alterations in pronephros morphology. Crude oil-exposed zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae presented defective pronephric function characterized by reduced renal clearance capacity and altered filtration selectivity, factors that likely contributed to the formation of edema. Latent osmoregulatory implications of crude oil exposure during ELS were observed in red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) larvae, which manifested reduced survival …

Identity is a powerful concept that influences behavior and health. For over thirty years, researchers in sport psychology have been using the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS) as a research instrument providing insights into the relationships between athletic identity and health variables. While musician identity is recognized as an important factor to be investigated in relation to occupational health, there are no known robust instruments like the AIMS in music psychology research. The current study aimed to adapt and validate the athletic identity measurement scale for use with musicians. The AIMS history includes episodes of modifications for performance enhancement of the instrument that resulted in five different models. The validation process includes evaluating the psychometrical properties across all five models. The sample included student musicians and non-student musicians (N = 1040). The traditional confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the maximum likelihood (ML) estimation method were used. The exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and robust weighted least squares (WLS) was utilized to explore a new method of estimation that was known to resolve issues consistent with the CFA and ML method. The goodness-of-fit indices of CFA and ESEM were compared. The results showed that the MIMS is a reliable and valid …

This dissertation is organized in a traditional format while including three essays that address specific research questions. Essay 1 examined the relationship between physical activity and community engagement and their effect on mental well-being among older men and women. Data from National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) from 2018 to 2020 were explored and the posited relationships were tested. This essay provides empirical support that older adults who are reasonably active and involved in the community have greater mental well-being than those who isolate themselves. Essay 2 provides insight into older adults' motivation to improve their physical activity through the use of a fitness tracker. The key finding from this study is that wearables, especially fitness trackers, can significantly facilitate increased physical activity. Essay 3 is a mixed-methods study to understand older adults' perception of the usefulness of fitness trackers and interaction with such devices. Findings suggest that to increase the adoption of fitness trackers among older adults, makers could improve the esthetics and quality of the wristband in addition to the battery life of the tracker.

Networked multi-agent systems have attracted lots of researchers to develop algorithms, techniques, and applications.A multi-agent networked system consists of more than one subsystem (agent) to cooperately solve a global problem with only local computations and communications in a fully distributed manner. These networked systems have been investigated in various different areas including signal processing, control system, and machine learning. We can see massive applications using networked systems in reality, for example, persistent surveillance, healthcare, factory manufacturing, data mining, machine learning, power system, transportation system, and many other areas. Considering the nature of those mentioned applications, traditional centralized control and optimization algorithms which require both higher communication and computational capacities are not suitable. Additionally, compared to distributed control and optimization approaches, centralized control, and optimization algorithms cannot be scaled into systems with a large number of agents, or guarantee performance and security. All of the limitations of centralized control and optimization algorithms motivate us to investigate and develop new distributed control and optimization algorithms in networked systems. Moreover, convergence rate and analysis are crucial in control and optimization literature, which motivates us to investigate how to analyze and accerlate the convergence of distributed optimization algorithms.

Compressed sensing has been proposed as a computationally efficient method to estimate the finite-dimensional signals. The idea is to develop an undersampling operator that can sample the large but finite-dimensional sparse signals with a rate much below the required Nyquist rate. In other words, considering the sparsity level of the signal, the compressed sensing samples the signal with a rate proportional to the amount of information hidden in the signal. In this dissertation, first, we employ compressed sensing for physical layer signal processing of directional millimeter-wave communication. Second, we go through the theoretical aspect of compressed sensing by running a comprehensive theoretical analysis of compressed sensing to address two main unsolved problems, (1) continuous-extension compressed sensing in locally convex space and (2) computing the optimum subspace and its dimension using the idea of equivalent topologies using Köthe sequence. In the first part of this thesis, we employ compressed sensing to address various problems in directional millimeter-wave communication. In particular, we are focusing on stochastic characteristics of the underlying channel to characterize, detect, estimate, and track angular parameters of doubly directional millimeter-wave communication. For this purpose, we employ compressed sensing in combination with other stochastic methods such as Correlation Matrix Distance …

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how individuals from different multiracial/multiethnic groups experience and process the phenomenon of parental racial ethnic socialization (RES). Critical multiracial race theory, critical race theory, and bioecological systems theory offered a conceptual framework to how RES is often presented and processed. This study was guided by two research questions: (1) What are the experiences of RES among multiracial individuals? and (2) How do multiracial individuals process the parental racial ethnic socialization they were offered? Nine qualitative, one-on-one, semistructured interviews were conducted with individuals from three different multiracial/multiethnic groups. Results revealed that experiences of RES varied along with how participants processed RES. Three subthemes and one theme emerged related to the RES experiences of participants. For some participants lack of conversations were evident in their RES, which meant that conversations surrounding multiraciality and other racialized topics were not present. Other participants disclosed the subtheme of preparedness as part of their RES experience, while others mentioned the importance of environment to their RES experience. Additionally, the theme of changes over time arose, demonstrating how different life events can impact RES experiences. As for how multiracial/multiethnic individuals process RES experiences, the main theme of identity …

Frédéric Chopin produced a remarkable body of piano works. Even though most of his works are essential repertoire in piano literature, some of them remain less familiar. One such significant work is the Allegro de Concert in A major, op. 46, which was apparently intended to be the first movement of a third piano concerto. Despite the praise the work has received, it is rarely heard, and references to performance are lacking in the scholarly literature. Some reasons include the substantial technical challenges, such as risky skips, trills in double notes, thick harmonic textures, complex passagework, and the perpetual motion. This study provides a performance guide for the Allegro de Concert, looking at various perspectives of an informed musical performance. The historical backstory of the intended third concerto and a detailed form analysis demonstrate that the work has a combined form, incorporating elements of both concerto and sonata-allegro form. The chapter on performance presents the technical issues and a comparative analysis of various editions and arrangements of this work to inspire musical ideas and suggest appropriate solutions to the musical and technical difficulties.

Recent epidemiological studies have demonstrated a correlation between the manifestation of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and ambient air pollution levels, which is exacerbated by the presence of other risk factors, such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity, and hypertension. We investigated the hypothesis that exposure to a mixture of gasoline and diesel engine emissions (MVE) coupled with the concurrent consumption of a high-fat (HF) diet promotes the development of a NAFLD phenotype within the liver. Three-month-old male C57Bl/6 mice were placed on either a low fat or HF diet and exposed via whole-body inhalation to either filtered (FA) air or MVE (30 µg PM/m3 gasoline engine emissions + 70 µg PM/m3 diesel engine emissions) 6 hr/day for 30 days. Histology revealed mild microvesicular steatosis and hepatocyte hypertrophy in response to MVE exposure alone, compared to FA controls, yielding a classification of "borderline NASH" under the criteria of the modified NAFLD active score (NAS) system. As anticipated, animals on a HF diet exhibited moderate steatosis; however, we also observed inflammatory infiltrates, hepatocyte hypertrophy, and increased lipid accumulation, with the combined effect of HF diet and MVE exposure. Immunofluorescence staining and RT-qPCR of the liver revealed the presence of lipid peroxidation, altered expression …

The dissertation covers three major topics: metal-assisted aromaticity, synthetic approaches to tailor donor-acceptor supramolecular stacks, and photoluminescence properties of cyclic trinuclear complexes (CTCs) of d10 metals. First, multiple theoretical approaches are adapted to discuss in detail the origin of aromaticity of CTCs, putting forward a metal-assisted aromaticity model. Next are the discoveries of donor-acceptor stacked CTC–CTC' complexes from both experimental and computational perspectives, reporting multiple novel crystallography-determined structures and revealing their pertinent intermolecular ground-state charge transfer. The spontaneous binding behavior is also determined by UV-vis and NMR titrations and rationalized as the cooperation of multiple supramolecular interactions, including metallophilicity, electrostatic attraction, and dispersion. The last part includes systematic investigations of photoluminescence properties of halogen-metal-bonded CTCs and sandwich-like cation–π-bonded heptanuclear clusters based on CTCs. The cooperative effects of metal-centered conformation, the heavy-atom and relativistic effects from both the halogen and metal atoms play complementary roles in the phosphorescence process to promote the inter-system crossing and radiative transitions.

The purpose of this research is to measure the social shifts that take place in a home where artificial intelligent (AI) devices like Echo Dot and Google Home are fully integrated into their everyday life. Research is currently limited, being that the widespread use of these devices is roughly seven years old. Three main outcomes of this study were related to how often Alexa is being used in homes to solve everyday problems, the lack of overall privacy and security concerns users had, and the level of integration into the home as a member of the family. Some limitations and challenges are my ability to compare the households before and after installing these devices in the home; pinpointing when and where the device is used (i.e., room placement); collecting data on whether the device is used often or sparingly; and the depth of interactions these families actually have with the device on a whole. The broader implications behind the increased integration of AI devices is centered around health, labor, social inequality and ethics.

Work-based and employee-driven informal learning, training and development have been increasing in importance in the last few decades. Concurrently, organizations seek to measure the extent to which they develop a culture and structure that supports individual learning and organizational learning. This study develops and validates a scale that can measure the extent to which an organization is perceived to provide online learning that is personalized for its employees and perceived to recognize skills and competencies acquired through non-degree and other pathways. This research can provide organizations with the ability to measure and benchmark attributes of their learning culture that are important to work-based and lifelong learning as well as talent recruitment and management.

This study examined students' perception between short research experiences (SRE) courses and full-semester course research experiences (CRE) using the Persistence in the Sciences (PITS) survey and the interview questionnaire. The study also aimed to correlate the influence of student's demographic as a predictive indicator for Project Ownership Scores (POS) and Quantitative Literacy (QL) score means. The three courses studied at the University of North Texas were Biology for Science Majors Laboratory (BIOL 1760 SRE), Microbiology with Tiny Earth (BIOL 2042 Tiny Earth SRE), and Introductory Biology Research Laboratory I (BIOL 1750 SEA-PHAGES CRE). The mean scores for the PITS categories leaned favorably towards the research component of each laboratory course assessed in this study. The interview questionnaire showed 66% of the students in the SRE courses and 90% of the students in the CRE course preferred the research component of the lab. Paired survey demographic analysis for BIOL 1760 SRE showed significance for the Science Community Values with associate/bachelor's degree. BIOL 1750 SEA-PHAGES CRE showed significance in three of the six categories when comparing means for Project Ownership Emotion, Self-Efficacy, and Science Identity with Gender. Binary logistics was used to build a regression model to predict demographics with approximately 65% …

Team psychological safety fosters interpersonal risk-taking and constructive debate. Yet, how psychological safety develops in diverse teams needs to be explained. I apply collective regulatory lenses to shed light on how collective prevention focus (status quo) and collective promotion focus (growth) uniquely affect team psychological safety. I believe promotion focus makes it easier to attain psychological safety, while prevention focus makes it harder. Under a collective promotion lens, teams seek growth. Under a collective prevention lens, teams desire protection and not making things any worse. A pilot study of 76 students in 17 student project teams provided initial support for individual relationships in my model. In Study 2, an experiment, I manipulated team regulatory foci in three tasks (building towers, selling a house, negotiating a salary). I did not find significant mean group differences in psychological safety between promotion (n = 17) and prevention (n = 15) teams; yet, promotion teams experienced greater team viability in the final activity. In Study 3, I employed an experimental vignette method that suggested leadership conditions (e.g., leader humility vs transactional leadership) created differences in regulatory foci and subsequent differences in psychological safety with 343 working professionals in 7 scenarios.

The purpose of this study was to examine the intersection of preservice teachers' personal identities as queer individuals with their emerging professional identities as educators. Political and social environments contribute to a separation of these identities, which can further the marginalization of these individuals to the detriment of both their identities as people as well as their professional practice. Guided by a theoretical framework of figured worlds, interviews with students in teacher education programs that identify as queer explore the ways in which unique confluences of contextualizing factors play a role in the lived experiences of these individuals. The study additionally examined the nature of teacher education programs as experienced by these participants in order to discuss the ways in which these programs serve to challenge or reinforce the heteronormativity pervasive in educational spaces.

In the past two decades, myriad algorithms to elucidate the characteristics and dynamics of molecular systems have been developed for quantum computers. In this dissertation, we explore how these algorithms can be adapted to other fields, both to closely related subjects such as materials science, and more surprising subjects such as information theory. Special emphasis is placed on the Variational Quantum Eigensolver algorithm adapted to solve band structures of a periodic system; three distinct implementations are developed, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. We also see how unitary quantum circuits designed to model individual electron excitations within a molecule can be modified to prepare a quantum states strictly orthogonal to a space of known states, an important component to solve problems in thermodynamics and spectroscopy. Finally, we see how the core behavior in several quantum algorithms originally developed for quantum chemistry can be adapted to implement compressive sensing, a protocol in information theory for extrapolating large amounts of information from relatively few measurements. This body of work demonstrates that quantum algorithms developed to study molecules have immense interdisciplinary uses in fields as varied as materials science and information theory.

Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) is widely recognized as a founding father of Russian classical music, but in fact, his music represents a bridge: it establishes a distinctive Slavic sound built on the Italian roots of Glinka's musical inspiration. As a young man, Glinka traveled abroad, which included three years spent in Italy, where he gained extensive exposure to and familiarity with what modern scholarship refers to as the Old Italian School of Singing. This influence makes his songs an ideal introduction to Russian lyric diction while reinforcing the tenets of sound vocalism. This study explores four Glinka melodies: "Doubt ," "To Molly," "The Lark," and "Cavatina." Previously published only in their original keys, the songs are presented here transposed into keys suitable for a young bass and a young baritone singer, with the melody line placed in the bass clef and corresponding IPA transcriptions beneath the original Cyrillic text. Following both an introduction that contextualizes Glinka as a composer enamored of 19th-century Italian opera and a discussion of technical and stylistic aspects regarding the production of sound in that same era, there is a brief examination of Russian lyric diction intended to inspire further study of this unique and rewarding singing …

Guided by the framework of bicultural identity integration (BII), a conceptual model depicting the direct and indirect effects of BII, cognitive flexibility, affect regulation, and coping on psychological wellbeing indicators (i.e., life satisfaction, depression) of adult children of immigrants (ACI) in the U.S. was developed. It was hypothesized that greater BII would contribute to greater cognitive flexibility and affect regulation, which would be associated with more utilization of adaptive coping strategies and greater psychological wellbeing. A total of 240 young ACI from across the U.S. completed the online research questionnaire that measured all variables of interest. Results from structural equation modeling analyses showed adequate model fit with the data. Findings provided support to the indirect effects of BII factors on wellbeing through affect regulation, however, the indirect effect paths are more complicated than what were hypothesized originally. Specifically, higher levels of identity harmony and identity blendedness contributed to more difficulties in emotion regulation, and subsequently, poorer wellbeing. Additionally, both cultural identity harmony and identity blendedness contributed to greater levels of cultural and relational maintenance strategies (i.e., avoidance, forbearance) in the context of intergenerational conflict through affect regulation, but not through cognitive flexibility. Notably, the latent variable of cultural coping strategies …

The use of enamines continues to be an important tool in organic syntheses as both a catalyst and reactant. The addition of metal catalysts coupled with enamine catalysis has generated many reactions that normally would not occur separately. However, catalysts' incompatibility is an issue that we wish to solve allowing new chemistry to occur without hindrance. The use of enamines has continued to be a well-studied area of organic chemistry, but the field is ripe for different types of enamines to gain the spotlight. Enaminones are enamines with both nucleophilic and electrophilic properties. They allow reactions that are normally not possible with enamines to become obtainable. Chapter 1 is a brief introduction on enamines and the reason they gained so much attention. Then ends with enaminones and what makes them interesting reactants. Chapter 2 described a new synthesis for the tricyclic synthesis of chromanes using a novel bifunctional catalyst system of enamine-metal Lewis acid giving great yields (up to 87 %yield) and excellent stereoselectivity (up to 99 % ee). Chapter 3 covered new reactions for ring-open cyclopropane (up to 94% yield), tetrahydroquinolinones (up to 84% yield) and enantiospecific tetrahydroquinolinones (up to 84% yield and 97% ee) using α-enaminone and donor-acceptor …

This narrative inquiry study sought the voices of bilingual teachers through their lived experiences in relation to the success of Hispanic emergent bilinguals in schools. Two research questions guided the study: (1) What practices do bilingual educators consider important in helping Hispanic emergent bilingual students succeed in schools? and (2) How do bilingual teachers negotiate the curriculum and school structures to support Hispanic bilingual students' success in their classrooms? Two theoretical frameworks were used. Constructivism provided the structure for honoring the lived experiences of these teachers and culturally relevant pedagogy provided the lenses of culture, funds of knowledge, and deep sociolinguistic awareness. The use of narrative inquiry as a methodology affirmed the bilingual teachers' voices as important and authoritative sources of knowledge. Semi-structured interviews and classroom observations allowed the participants to engage as storytellers about their history and experiences that contributed to answering the questions. Three resonant reverberations emerged from the analysis: (a) the emerging rhythms of the classroom; (b) the realms of instructional and learning design; and (c) the orientation towards a culturally relevant pedagogy. These major findings revealed that teachers were student-oriented while also being content-oriented. They designed a positive learning environment by tapping into their students' funds …

Charles Koechlin (1867–1950) has been a notable figure in French music since the late nineteenth century. However, Koechlin's mélodies are not performed as often as the art songs of many other French composers. Koechlin's Cinq chansons de Bilitis is a collection of five songs based on Pierre Louÿs's Les chansons de Bilitis. The cycle was completed in 1898–1908. The stories of Bilitis are beautifully set by Koechlin, who uses his wide compositional facility. This dissertation serves as a guide to be used by performers, vocal coaches, and instructors in their preparation and performance of Koechlin's Cinq chansons de Bilitis. The introductory Chapter 1 is followed by Chapter 2, which presents Koechlin's biography, an overview of his selected vocal works, and information related to Cinq chansons de Bilitis. Chapter 3 includes Pierre Louÿs's biography and information related to Les chansons de Bilitis. Chapter 4 concentrates on the stories of the invented figure Bilitis from Les chansons de Bilitis. Chapter 5 examines the five songs by discussing the background of each song; giving an analysis of the music and performance suggestions; providing an International Phonetic Alphabet transcription and a word-for-word translation; and evaluating the difficulty level. Chapter 6 summarizes the significance of …

Research examining how these athletes, specifically football players, are racially mistreated in revenue sports in Power Five conferences, as well as the effect of this mistreatment on their health and well-being, has been sparse. Thus, the purpose of my study was to examine current Black male college football players' experiences of racial mistreatment within their lives in general, and their collegiate sport experiences in particular, and to learn how these experiences have affected their health and well-being across their academic, athletic, and social spheres of functioning. Through reflexive thematic analysis, I gathered that (a) the athletes believed that football defines and limits them, (b) they felt misunderstood and isolated on campus, (b) they were dehumanized and criminalized, and (d) they were physically and psychologically exhausted from chronic racial mistreatment. Despite the NCAA making positive strides toward addressing mental health concerns within collegiate athletics, there remains a clear need for more support and nourishment regarding the mental health of Black male college athletes, particularly football players. Further results and implications are discussed.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of adult first-generation students through their college journey. With a conceptual framework based on student involvement and social and cultural capital theories that contribute to student persistence, retention, and graduation, this study was guided by three research questions: (1) What were the expectations and motivations of adult first-generation students when pursuing postsecondary studies after the age of 25? (2) What were the main challenges experienced by this population during their journey through college? and (3) What strategies did these students use to cope with those challenges? Five first-generation participants who started or resumed their college careers when they were 27, 34, 47, and 50 years old were interviewed in-depth. Results indicated that all participants had to search for their inner strength to pursue higher education studies and required the support of their family and social network to succeed. As a result of their rich lived experiences, these adult first-generation students showed how their strong social and cultural capital enabled them to juggle family and work responsibilities and overcome the challenges of their college experiences.

Although markets for alternative batteries, such as Li-ion, are growing, Pb-alloy batteries still dominate the market due to their low cost and good functionality. Even though these Pb-alloy batteries have been around since their discovery in 1859, little research involving advanced characterization techniques, such as synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction (SR-XRD) and transmission electron diffraction (TEM) have been performed on Pb-alloys and sulfation, a failure mode in lead acid batteries, with regards to thermally- and electrochemically-induced changes at the atomic and microstructural scale. Therefore, there is a need to close this scientific gap between research and the application of Pb-alloy battery material. The main objectives of this research are to examine the process of sulfation and its growth mechanisms as well as to study the effects of minor alloying additions in Pb-alloy material. In the first case, nucleation and growth mechanisms of PbSO4 nano- and micro-particles in various solutions are examined using TEM to potentially reduce or control the buildup of PbSO4 on battery electrodes over time. The time dependency of particle morphology was observed using various reaction conditions. This insight can provide avenues to reduce unwanted buildup of PbSO4 on battery electrodes over time which can extend battery life and …

Printed circuit board manufacturing involves subtractive copper (Cu) etching where fine features are developed with a specific spatial resolution and etch profile of the Cu interconnects. A UV-Vis ATR metrology, to characterize the chemical transitions, has been developed to monitor the state of the bath by an in-situ measurement. This method provides a direct correlation of the Cu etch bath and was able to predict a 35% lower etch rate that was not predicted by the three current monitoring methods (ORP, specific gravity, and conductivity). Application of this UV-Vis ATR probe confirmed that two industrial etch baths, in identical working conditions, confirmed a difference in Cu2+ concentration by the difference of the near IR 860nm peak. The scope of this probe allowed chemically specific monitoring of the Cu etch bath to achieve a successful regeneration for repeated use. Interlayer dielectrics (ILDs) provide mechanical and electrical stability to the 3D electrical interconnects found in IC devices. It is particularly important that the structural support is created properly in the multilayered architecture to prevent the electrical cross signaling in short range distances. A combined multiple internal reflection and transmission FTIR has been employed for the characterization of silicon oxycarbonitride (SiOCN) films. These …