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- Creators: School of International Letters and Cultures
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
- Status: Published
Experimental Characterization of Multifunctional Shape Memory Polymers With Carbon-Based Nanofillers
This paper focuses on the fabrication and characterization of shape memory polymer (SMP) with interspersed carbon-based nanofillers which showed significant improvements in quasi-static and dynamic mechanical properties. These composite shape memory polymers have been fabricated using a specialized acetone solvent mixing technique to achieve high dispersion. The effect of individual and hybrid additions of graphene oxide (GO) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) with a total nanofiller content of 2 wt.% was investigated. These high dispersion SMPs showed significant improvements in tensile moduli (up to 25% over baseline), tensile strength (up to 15% over baseline), and strain to failure (up to 75% over baseline), owing to crack propagation hindrance induced by the carbon nanofillers. Further, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) showed a minimal reduction in polymer chain mobility and improvements in storage modulus. Dispersion is characterized by micrograph acquisition and subsequent binary image processing.
As a fashion design student with career interest in design and costuming, I decided to design and build a Ready-to-Wear collection for my senior thesis. The steps to build a collection include: concept research, initial concept sketching, create a moodboard and colorboard, select textiles/sourcing textiles, finalize sketches, create technical flats, patternmaking and draping, testing and swatching design details (such as embroidery, seam and construction details, finishes/trims), sewing mock-ups/toiles, and finally construct the garments in the fashion fabrics. Due to my collection being featured in the ASU Spring 2022 fashion show there were some additional steps I took to finalize this collection including: model sourcing, fittings, alterations, and hair and makeup conceptualization for the show. I began conceptualizing this collection in the fall of 2021 and began sewing in January 2022. The ASU fashion show was March 26, 2022. I found inspiration for this collection from my love of tattoo art, specifically by the history and imagery of American Traditionalism tattoo art around the turn of the 20th century. As an avid fan of tattoo art, I have become more appreciative of tattooing as a pure form of art and the elements required to have a well done American Traditional style tattoo. Such elements include: contrast, shadows, clean line work, as well as perception/silhouettes. This type of classic tattoo art also involves heavy symbolism, mostly derived from animals and the ocean. An additional concept I am applying to my collection is corsetry, specifically in the style of the early 1900’s. This time period is cohesive with the tattoo era I am focusing on, as well as it is the era that corsetry began to include decorative elements in addition to being for structural and shaping purposes. I began to have an interest in corsetry from my love of complicated construction, as well as costumery. I feel like corsets as an outer layer is a great way to incorporate costumery into a traditional Ready-To-Wear-Collection. I have decided to apply tattoo art in multiple ways to my collection- the first within my colorways. American Traditional tattoo art at the turn of the 20th century only used black, green, yellow, and red ink. I plan to utilize these colors in the corsets only. The modern and classic silhouettes utilized in the base clothing will be in various shades of browns and tans in order to represent skin tones, therefore the corsets are the “tattoos” on the “skin”. The tattoo art will be applied further within the corsets, as I will be using the classic imagery/ symbols as decorative features on the corsets- done possibly with beadwork, embroidery, and paint/ screen printing. I hope to mostly utilize natural fiber-based textile for their sustainability purposes, such as wool and silks. However, any synthetic materials will be sourced from deadstock in order to still hold myself accountable to sustainability.
From Anglo-American Martial and Social Culture to a Distinct American Martial and Social Culture is a historical thesis which documents the origins and perspectives of English settlers in North America from 1607 until American independence recognized in the 1783 Treaty of Paris. Over the course of these 176 years, the mindset of those living on the American frontier was analyzed through the martial and social culture that developed. Some examples of Anglo-American adaptations to living on the American frontier were legislative assemblies and a continent-spanning local militia. Questions ranging from why the English settlers chose to live in the Americas to how they overcame sectional differences to form the United States of America were questions that this thesis attempted to answer. The conclusion from analyzing primary and secondary sources shows the initial development of an Anglo-American culture which over the course of more than a century diverges into a unique American identity, distinct from British subjects and agents of empire. Whereas British citizens in the Americas started out as staunch defenders and agents of the global British Empire, this thesis documents the transformation of British citizens in North America from a British cultural identity to a distinct American cultural identity.
Considered by colonists as an extension of France, Algeria was subjected to more than 125 years of French control. The Algerian people were thus heavily influenced by the French language and were required to abandon their native language in many aspects of their life such as government and education. This thesis aims to highlight the linguistic power relations established by the French in Colonial Algeria. Language usage and policies leading up to the Algerian War for Independence are critical to understanding the successor government. Analyzing three sections of language in Colonial Algeria- radio, language of instruction, and literature- I find that the language of instruction in education is the most influential in determining and formulating identities and power relations. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that language, power, and identity overlap and influence each other in several ways, producing a complex post-colonial society
The goal of this thesis is to better understand the outcomes of both treated and untreated maternal depression on fetal development and birth defects. We focus on a class of antidepressant drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). We hope to gain insight into how these effects might carry on into childhood and adolescent years. While research shows there are potentially significant consequences for the fetus in both treated and untreated scenarios, it remains unclear whether depression itself or SSRIs play the larger role in the outcomes of children born from these women. We begin with a general history of depression and the introduction of SSRIs, followed by a review of the physiology of depression and SSRI treatment. We then narrow our focus to the history of maternal depression, SSRI usage in pregnant women, and potential risk factors. Following this, we analyze studies on the effects of depression and SSRI usage on the fetus and at birth, paying careful attention to the cortisol pathway that results from depression itself and the biochemical effects that SSRIs have on embryogenesis and fetal development. While there is limited research on the long-term effects of fetal exposure to SSRI-treated and untreated maternal depression, one of the aims of this thesis is to understand the potential risks for children throughout their developmental years and into adolescence. Therefore, we also researched the effects of depression and SSRI use in children and adolescents themselves, comparing this information to the effects of both SSRI-treated and untreated maternal depression. We believe there is sufficient evidence of causal connections involving cortisol (in untreated depression) and SSRIs (in pharmacologically treated depression) to warrant caution regarding the use of SSRIs in a clinical setting. We suggest alternative treatments for depression such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which have been shown to be effective, and which have very little chance for harm. Notably, such treatments can be of real benefit regardless of the underlying biological, psychological, and social causes of depression. Finally, we conclude by suggesting some preventative treatments for maternal depression. While we do not believe the use of SSRIs needs to be completely avoided in the case of maternal depression, we believe that better practitioner education in preventing depression could go a long way in making them unnecessary in most cases.
Synthetic plastics are ubiquitously used in a broad range of applications, including food and drink packaging. Plastics often contain chemical additives, including bisphenols, phthalates, and terephthalic acid, which can degrade under thermal stress. The environmental presence of these chemicals is cause for public concern, especially in consumer products that utilize plastic packaging, as many have been identified as endocrine disruptors. This study sought to determine exposure to phthalates, bisphenols, and terephthalic acid by quantifying a broad spectrum of these analytes within three bottled water brands at varying temperature exposure levels using the combination of solid phase extraction followed by isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Monobenzyl phthalate was detected in two of the three brands after bottles were heated to ~100 °C, ranging from 98 – 107 ng/L, and bisphenol A was detected in one brand at ~100 °C at an average concentration of 748 ± 36 ng/L. Subsequent mass loading calculations demonstrated that bioaccumulation of BPA from Brand C after high levels of temperature exposure well exceeded the tolerable daily intake (TDI). Findings in this study indicate that consumers should not be expected to incur harmful exposures to the target compounds under normal conditions as analytes were not measured in water bottle samples at 25 °C or 60 °C. Further studies should explore a more nuisance approach to heating over long durations, including that of ultraviolet exposure.