2019 UMKC Dissertations - Freely Available Online
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Item Medieval seismicity on the Himalayan Frontal Thrust Fault at Lal Dhang, Uttarakhand, India(2019) Daniels, Robyn L.; Niemi, Tina M.; Kilway, Kathleen V., 1963-The Himalayan Frontal Thrust Fault (HFT) lies at the active, tectonic boundary between Eurasia and the Indian subcontinent. Continuous convergence between the landmasses causes strain to accumulate on the fault, which is intermittently released during seismic events. Throughout the last two centuries, several large-magnitude earthquakes have occurred on the HFT without producing measurable vertical offsets at the ground surface, leading many to refer to these events as blind-thrust earthquakes. However, large fault scarps along the HFT indicate that past ruptures of the fault were not blind and may have been much greater in magnitude. Recent paleoseismological studies have aimed to characterize the earthquakes that generated these features. One of these studies focused on defining the seismic parameters of a specific segment of the fault by comparing findings across several sites, including the site of Lal Dhang in Uttarakhand, India. The results of this study point to lingering uncertainties specific to the site of Lal Dhang that warrant additional research, including poor temporal constraint of past fault ruptures, disparities in deformational structures when compared to surrounding sites, discrepancies in fault scarp height as compared to apparent net slip measurements, and questions surrounding local interactions between fluvial terrace development and fault scarp generation. The goal of this research was to conduct a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the seismic history at the site of Lal Dhang. The work was distributed across three intersecting objectives: 1) development of an age model for previous earthquakes on the segment of the HFT that includes Lal Dhang, 2) determination of the faulting sequence, timing, and seismic parameters of previous earthquakes at the site, and 3) investigation of the interaction between local tectonic and fluvial landscape development. Data produced through this study have narrowed the constraint on rupture timing at the site of Lal Dhang and along the western section of the CSG. Results presented here include improved estimates for coseismic slip and vertical separation at the site of Lal Dhang, which are comparable to surrounding sites, and a model for local fault scarp generation and associated landscape development. Implications for future research are considered and discussed.Item Implementation of Solution and Solid Sate Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopic Techniques for Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Molecular Species(University of Missouri -- Kansas City, 2019) Alnafisah, Abrar S.; Oyler, Nathan (Nathan Andrew)In this dissertation, spectroscopy has been used to solve a variety of problems in different domains of science. Therefore, each chapter consists of different examples that have been addressed using different concepts of spectroscopy. The objective of part I (application of solution state NMR spectroscopy in pharmaceutical sciences) is to apply NMR techniques in different pharmaceutical projects. In chapter3, a real-time quantification of in vitro Bortezomib (BTZ) release from alginate microparticles using a solution state quantitative boron nuclear magnetic resonance (11B qNMR) method is presented. The method was validated according to International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. Therefore, several analytical performance parameters were discussed such as limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), linearity, specificity, accuracy, precision and robustness. The 11B qNMR method was applied to the in vitro release study of a model drug, bortezomib (BTZ) from alginate microparticles and results were compared to a commonly used dialysis method. Throughout the release study, the dialysis method consistently underestimated the level of drug released, probably due to the separating membrane that can interfere with the real-time drug transport process. Overall, compared to the dialysis method, the direct 11B qNMR method was accurate and provided a direct and real-time quantification of BTZ for an effective study of drug release kinetics. Similarly, in chapter 4, a 19F qNMR method was developed and validated and then applied to study the real-time release of maraviroc from a microparticle formulation in a vaginal and seminal stimulated environment. Different possibilities were discussed to control the release profile such as the crosslinking process and a pH sensitive polymer. In chapter 5, the project is a collaborative effort between the department of Chemistry and School of Pharmacy. Our contributions in that project are to utilize 11B NMR spectroscopy technique as a characterization tool for the reaction progression. Moreover, to perform theoretical and experimental calculations and compare them to each other in order to trace the reaction mechanism. The overall motivation of the project is to test an assumption about phenylboronic acid (PBA) to prevent HIV transmission. It has been found that phenylboronic acid can form boronic acid in the presence of cis-diol, like the one found in HIV-gp120 glycoproteins. In order to exam the proposed hypothesis, a derivative of phenylboronic acid was synthesized. The synthetic scheme and the spectroscopic results are presented and discussed in detail. The objective of part II (applications of solid-state NMR spectroscopy) is to apply SSNMR spectroscopy experiments in two projects to gain significant information about specific materials. In chapter 6, some main concepts of SSNMR spectroscopy are discussed as well as some basic SSNMR experiments. In chapter 7, boron carbide thin films were grown using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) under different growth conditions. Different possible spectroscopic techniques were discussed in order to discover the local physical structure of boron carbide thin films. However, most of these techniques have shown a lack of an ability to demonstrate the internal structure of thin films. SSNMR spectroscopy was successfully employed to reveal information about the internal structure of boron carbide thin films. In chapter 8, the optical properties of titanium oxide TiO2 were modified by introducing a hydrazine molecule. SSNMR spectroscopy was implemented to monitor the reaction progression of TiO2 to improve its optical properties.Item Of floods and gales: environmental value creation due to creative destruction(University of Missouri -- Kansas City, 2019) Sunny, Sanwar A.; Anderson, Brian S.Recent discussions on environmental issues, such as global climate change, implicates many of the wider processes studied by scholars in the management sciences. As a result, there has been considerable debate regarding the boundary conditions of topics such as environmental sustainability as a distinct field of study within management, especially given the ongoing mismatch between existing epistemological lines of enquiry and traditional reliance on different analyses levels in prior work. If topics such as environmental entrepreneurship and corporate sustainability are theoretically distinct from wider management sciences, what limits this argument further is a general lack of agreed upon outcome criteria and an absence of an appropriate dependent variable. Thus, what is still needed is an elaboration on the ecological outcomes of different organizational behaviors and choices. Without such an appropriate construct to guide research efforts, scholars may risk diverging in their collective understanding of the phenomenon, missing important near-term research questions or misleading future scholarship altogether. The purpose of the present dissertation is to derive a delineated outcome measure of sustainability - namely, environmental value creation, from the existing body of interdisciplinary research on the topic from a management standpoint. I analyze organization-level data on resource consumption, meso-level firm entry data, macro-level economic data and energy-based emissions data to model the spatio-temporal interactions. With an emphasis on energy, this dissertation tests and models the effects of various interventions considering the spatial and temporal heterogeneity in subsequent ecological outcomes. I limit the definition of environmental sustainability within discussions of energy-based carbon emissions that drives global climate change. The theoretical derivation and empirical conceptualization contain herein not only contributes by extending the discussion of environmental sustainability within management as a unique stream of research but enables the exploration of new research questions within the broader field through its use in future research designs and studies.Item Performance of Steel Pipelines Backfilled with Controlled Low-Strength Material (CLSM) under Seismic Wave Propagation and Reverse-Slip Fault Rupture(University of Missouri -- Kansas City, 2019) Somboonyanon, Prapon; Halmen, Ceki, 1975-Seismic events may drastically damage buried pipelines affecting economy and public safety. Traditionally, buried pipelines are bedded and backfilled with compacted soils, which is labor intensive, time consuming, and could be a safety hazard to workers. Many studies have shown that achieving a proper compaction level around pipelines can be a difficult task. Improper compaction can greatly reduce performance of the pipelines under loads. Controlled Low-Strength Materials (CLSM) is a group of cementitious materials that can be used as an alternative to compacted soils to backfill pipelines. These mixtures are highly flowable in their fresh state and are solid in the final state providing a uniform support around pipelines. Although there is considerable research about the advantages of using CLSM to backfill pipelines from construction point of view, there is no research on the performance of pipelines embedded in CLSM subject to seismic loads. In this research, 3D FEA was conducted using ABAQUS software to determine the performance of buried steel pipes backfilled with CLSM when subjected to seismic wave propagation and reverse-slip fault rupture. Under seismic wave propagation, the study started by evaluating the ASCE guidelines and its design limitations. Then, several FE model parameters were evaluated for their effects on FE model results. After setting the model parameters to match the predicted stresses by the ASCE guidelines, the developed FE model was used to evaluate the pipe seismic performance with various soil and CLSM backfill materials. Both linear and non-linear material behavior were considered in this study. Under seismic fault rupture, the study developed a 3D FE model matching results from a full-scale testing performed by others. Various FE model parameters were also evaluated. Then, the developed FE model was utilized to determine the pipe seismic performance of CLSM mixture compared to compacted soil backfill. Results indicated that for 3D FEA pipe seismic analysis, FE model parameters can have a significant effect on the results. In addition, with a proper design buried steel pipe embedded in CLSM backfill with all its inherent advantages can perform as well as or better than soils in seismic prone areas.Item Barriers to and Facilitators of Infertility Medication Adherence: A Mixed Methods Study(University of Missouri -- Kansas City, 2019) Mahoney, Diane; Russell, Cynthia L.Background. Infertility treatment protocols require women to engage in self management of their prescribed medication regimens, yet adherence to infertility medication schedules have been suboptimal. No prior research has investigated barriers to and facilitators of infertility medication adherence (MA) that could assist in the development of effective interventions to overcome medication non-adherence (MNA). Purpose. The purpose of this study was to assess barriers to and facilitators of infertility MA among women undergoing infertility treatment. This study was approved by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Institutional Review Board (IRB) and followed the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. Setting. The study setting was a reproductive medicine and infertility clinical practice serving women who reside in urban, suburban, and rural communities. Methods. Supported by Ajzen and Fishbein’s Reasoned Action Model, a convergent mixed methods design was conducted to correlate women’s perceived barriers to and facilitators of infertility MA. Women in a convenience sample were interviewed and completed questionnaires at study onset followed by one to two subsequent months of electronically monitored medication-taking using the Medication Event Management System® (MEMS). Results. The total sample consisted of 30 participants, of which 18 (60%) participants used the MEMS® with infertility medication-taking. The overall median infertility adherence MA score was 0.98 with a range of .75 to 1.00. The median adherence score of women who were considered non-adherent (n=9) was 0.90, and those who were considered adherent (n=9) was 1.00. MA scores significantly (r = -.49, p= 0.020) increased when the total MA barrier scores decreased. Women with a higher MA total barrier scores had significantly (p= 0.019) lower MA scores compared to women with lower total barrier scores. Women who were adherent to their infertility medication regimen had a significantly (p= 0.009) higher probability to report a positive view on treatment success compared to women who were not adherent. Women who lived in urban and rural communities had a significantly (p= 0.010) higher probability to report a positive view regarding treatment success compared to women who lived in suburban communities. Caucasian and African American women had a significantly (p= 0.049) higher probability to report feelings of self blame for experiencing infertility compared to Asian, Hispanic, and Native American women. Women who had experienced two to three prior failed treatment cycles had a significantly (p= 0.047) higher probability to report feelings of emotional distress compared to women who had experienced zero to one prior failed cycle. Women with children had a significantly (p= 0.015) lower probability to report having a supportive partner compared to women who were childless. There were no significant relationships found between the reported MA facilitators and infertility MA scores. Conclusion. These study findings offer new insight about this unique population that could impact the future of clinical practice. This study serves as a framework to foster ongoing scientific discovery including new interventional studies aimed at optimizing infertility MA.