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Extending The Information Partition Function: Modeling Interaction Effects In Highly Multivariate, Discrete Data, Paul C. Cannon Dec 2007

Extending The Information Partition Function: Modeling Interaction Effects In Highly Multivariate, Discrete Data, Paul C. Cannon

Theses and Dissertations

Because of the huge amounts of data made available by the technology boom in the late twentieth century, new methods are required to turn data into usable information. Much of this data is categorical in nature, which makes estimation difficult in highly multivariate settings. In this thesis we review various multivariate statistical methods, discuss various statistical methods of natural language processing (NLP), and discuss a general class of models described by Erosheva (2002) called generalized mixed membership models. We then propose extensions of the information partition function (IPF) derived by Engler (2002), Oliphant (2003), and Tolley (2006) that will allow …


Incorporating Grain Size Effects In Taylor Crystal Plasticity, Bradley S. Fromm Dec 2007

Incorporating Grain Size Effects In Taylor Crystal Plasticity, Bradley S. Fromm

Theses and Dissertations

A method to incorporate grain size effects into crystal plasticity is presented. The classical Hall-Petch equation inaccurately predicts the macroscopic yield strength for materials with non-equiaxed grains or materials that contain unequal grain size distributions. These deficiencies can be overcome by incorporating both grain size and orientation characteristics into crystal plasticity theory. Homogenization relationships based on a viscoplastic Taylor-like approach are introduced along with a new function, the grain size and orientation distribution function (GSODF). Estimates of the GSODF for high purity α-titanium are recovered through orientation imaging microscopy coupled with the chord length distribution. A comparison between the new …


Preparation Of Divalent And Trivalent Antigens For Immunogical Studies On Degranulation Of Mast Cells And Preparation Of Ceragenins For Antiviral Studies Against Vaccinia Virus., Dianliang Geng Dec 2007

Preparation Of Divalent And Trivalent Antigens For Immunogical Studies On Degranulation Of Mast Cells And Preparation Of Ceragenins For Antiviral Studies Against Vaccinia Virus., Dianliang Geng

Theses and Dissertations

CHAPTER 1

Aggregation of receptors for IgE (Fc RI) causes mast cells and basophils to release preformed contents of granules, including histamine and a variety of enzymes. This process, called degranulation plays a central role in allergic reactions. Methods to study this process are to create multivalent ligands which can interact with the receptors and, in turn, lead to aggregation of the receptors. We prepared a series of fluorophore-labeled divalent and trivalent antigens to study the degranulation of mast cells. Trivalent antigens proved to be much better stimulators for degranulation of mast cells than divalent antigens. These results indicate that …


A Biomechanical Analysis Of Male And Female Intermediate Hurdlers And Steeplechasers, Laurence R. Bollschweiler Dec 2007

A Biomechanical Analysis Of Male And Female Intermediate Hurdlers And Steeplechasers, Laurence R. Bollschweiler

Theses and Dissertations

In the sport of track and field, proper hurdling technique is a complicated combination of various running and jumping kinematics. With most research having been done on sprint hurdling, there is a growing need for research on hurdling events of different lengths. The intermediate hurdles (IH) and the steeplechase (SC) are two events where there are a number of differences in hurdling technique. This study compared the differences in hurdling technique between events (IH and SC) as well as the differences in technique between genders. Subjects for this study consisted of 20 elite intermediate hurdlers (10 male, 10 female) and …


Pyridinium Bisretinoids: Synthesis And Photoactivated Cytotoxicity, Junping Gao Dec 2007

Pyridinium Bisretinoids: Synthesis And Photoactivated Cytotoxicity, Junping Gao

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses pyridinium bisretinoid compounds (PBRs), which were prepared for two purposes: 1) to use them as standards for detection of novel fluorophores in human RPE cells, which may be involved in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and 2) to use them in the development of a targeted and triggered drug delivery system for cancer therapy. We prepared a selection of PBRs using a one-pot biomimetic method; synthesis, mechanisms for formation, and characterization of these compounds is described. We also explored the photoreactivity of three novel PBR compounds and found that these PBRs form oxidation products under blue-light irradiation. The …


Adolescent Girls' Perception Of Residential Treatment Centers: A Qualitative Study Of How Treatment Works, Tyler Adam Money Dec 2007

Adolescent Girls' Perception Of Residential Treatment Centers: A Qualitative Study Of How Treatment Works, Tyler Adam Money

Theses and Dissertations

RTCs play an increasingly significant role in the continuum of treatment of emotionally disturbed adolescents. However, outcome research in this area has lagged behind the growth of treatment centers. More specifically, there has been very little investigation of the relative efficacy of the many different aspects of residential treatment, which are referred to as mechanisms of change in other research. The present study attempts to develop a phenomenological understanding of RTC patients' experience of all of the interventions that make up residential treatment. Results suggest that patients view social support, non-therapist staff members, family involvement and family therapy, as most …


Women Troubadours In Southern France, Catherine Christine Ganiere Dec 2007

Women Troubadours In Southern France, Catherine Christine Ganiere

Theses and Dissertations

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries women troubadours in southern France called trobairitz participated in dialogue or debate poems called tensons with male troubadours. Of the nine existing tensons that include a male and a female voice, we will only analyze five tensons with the known identities of both the trobairitz and the troubadour that debate the subject of love, and we will include the following trobairitz tensons in this paper: Alamanda, Isabella, Garsenda, Lombarda and Maria de Ventadorn. We will discuss the thematic elements these five tensons share. Scholars such as Pierre Bec, Peter Dronke and Katharina Wilson note …


Thermodynamic Evidence That Ganglioside-Mediated Insertion Of Botulinum A Into The Cholinergic Nerve Ending May Precede Endocytosis And Acidification: A Langmuir Film Study, Bradley Adam Strongin Dec 2007

Thermodynamic Evidence That Ganglioside-Mediated Insertion Of Botulinum A Into The Cholinergic Nerve Ending May Precede Endocytosis And Acidification: A Langmuir Film Study, Bradley Adam Strongin

Theses and Dissertations

Botulinum Neurotoxin (BoNT) is one of the most potent toxins known to human kind. The Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) was employed to investigate the conditions under which BoNT type A heavy chain would bind and/or insert into mica supported dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) lipid bilayers. As an alternate technique, DPPC/GT1b or total ganglioside extract (80:20) monolayers of a Langmuir Blodgett (LB) Trough were adapted to be artificial membrane models for toxin insertion studies. We conclude that LB monolayer studies are a promising candidate for BoNT/A membrane insertion investigation. Botulinum neurotoxin serotype A insertions into the LB monolayers in the presence of BoNT/A …


Study Of The Reproducibility Of Proteomics Methods And Variability Of Fruit Fly Proteomes., Thomas Franklin Culwell Dec 2007

Study Of The Reproducibility Of Proteomics Methods And Variability Of Fruit Fly Proteomes., Thomas Franklin Culwell

Theses and Dissertations

The reliability of biomarker discovery by means of proteomics has been called into question. It was speculated that "background noise" variation resulting from differences in preparation and handling of samples and proteome dynamics may mask subtle, yet important, differences due to the biological condition. Little is understood about complex proteomes and their variability. A critical aspect of proteomic biomarker research that is largely unexplored is the comparative reproducibility of certain methods such as two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. In particular, with liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry, it is not known whether variability in peptide quantitation is dependent on any of …


Bio-Surfaces And Geometric References For A Standardized Biomechanical Design Methodology For Mass Customization, Kimberly A. Jensen Dec 2007

Bio-Surfaces And Geometric References For A Standardized Biomechanical Design Methodology For Mass Customization, Kimberly A. Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a method for the design of customizable products that interface with the human body. The method presented involves first, a consistent method of capturing and representing the human model so that the model can be used with CAx tools and solid modeling techniques. Second, it provides a design methodology based on feature structure planning and assembly modeling that provides a consistent structure to the design process so that it can be reused and parameterized. Third, a strategy for identifying parametric variables that are referenced to the human body is introduced. The core of this method is the …


Pyridinium Bis-Retinoids A2-Dopamine And A2-Cadaverine: Implications In Age-Related Macular Degeneration And Cancer, Mckenzie Ruth Pew Dec 2007

Pyridinium Bis-Retinoids A2-Dopamine And A2-Cadaverine: Implications In Age-Related Macular Degeneration And Cancer, Mckenzie Ruth Pew

Theses and Dissertations

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the United States of America. The pyridinium bis-retinoid A2-ethanolamine (A2E) has been implicated to play a role in AMD. We have observed novel pyridinium bis-retinoids through melanolipofuscin and human RPE extractions that may also play a role in the pathology of AMD. We have begun the construction of an amino-retinoid library in order to identify these ocular compounds. The compounds from the amino-retinoid library are also used in a targeted and triggered drug delivery system for treating cancer. Folic acid is coupled with the amino-retinoids to specifically target cancer …


Reducing Curvature In Complex Tool Paths By Deviating From Cam-Produced Tool Paths Within A Tolerance Band, George Benjamin Naseath Dec 2007

Reducing Curvature In Complex Tool Paths By Deviating From Cam-Produced Tool Paths Within A Tolerance Band, George Benjamin Naseath

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis develops an algorithm to decrease high-curvature sections in tool paths for complex parts to achieve shorter machining times resulting in higher production rates. In the research sample cases, the algorithm decreased machining times by 1% to 9% for design-induced sections of high curvature and by 16% to 75% for CAM induced ripples using high path tolerances. High-curvature sections in tool paths are caused by complex part geometry, noise, and discontinuities in the model. The curvature is decreased by deviating the tool path within an allowable path tolerance. The feedrate along the tool path is directly related to the …


Do Parents' Literacy Beliefs And Home Literacy Experiences Relate To Children's Literacy Skills?, Rebecca C. Norman Dec 2007

Do Parents' Literacy Beliefs And Home Literacy Experiences Relate To Children's Literacy Skills?, Rebecca C. Norman

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship among parents' literacy beliefs, home literacy experiences, and children's literacy skills. Forty-three children, who attended a university preschool, and their parents participated in the study. Parents' literacy beliefs and the home literacy experience, namely shared book reading, were examined through a self-report questionnaire. One important section of this questionnaire provided information about parents' beliefs concerning literacy acquisition; specifically, whether they believed in a top-down or bottom-up approach. The children were tested individually for emergent literacy skills, including concepts of print, alphabetic knowledge, rhyming skills, oral language skills, word recognition, and invented spelling. The results were …


A Corpus-Based Approach To Determining Standard American English, Delys Ann Waite Snyder Dec 2007

A Corpus-Based Approach To Determining Standard American English, Delys Ann Waite Snyder

Theses and Dissertations

Many teachers, test designers, textbook writers, and instructional designers turn to books written by usage experts to determine what is correct standard written American English. Unfortunately, though, experts often disagree about what is correct and what is incorrect, and this disagreement can create problems with validity when people create and assess instruction about usage. One way to discover the rules of standard English usage is to describe what writers actually do in printed, edited English. Researchers can access large collections of standard English through digital text archives, which can be searched electronically. The text archives for this study were taken …


Liminal Butlers: Discussing A Comic Stereotype And The Progression Of Class Distinctions In America, Katie Smith Dec 2007

Liminal Butlers: Discussing A Comic Stereotype And The Progression Of Class Distinctions In America, Katie Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will prove how the male domestic servant shows a conservative evolution of class freedom through early American films. As an individual thrust into a liminal sphere, these characters paradoxically become a character type for both keeping class-consciousness as well as breaking up notions of class, albeit in a slow process. In comedy, domestic male servants have always been on duty to help their masters while also becoming sources of mischief as tricksters. In early American films, these characters embody the anxiety of a classless body of men who become scapegoats, trickster-figures, and mask-wearing sages in order to survive—attracting …


When West Meets East: Communicative Language Teaching In China, Rong Li Dec 2007

When West Meets East: Communicative Language Teaching In China, Rong Li

Theses and Dissertations

With radical social change and educational reform taking place in China since 1976, the English teaching system there has been changing accordingly. The Chinese Traditional Method (CTM) is giving way to the Western Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach. This research is a study of both Chinese and expatriate English teachers who are involved in classrooms and affected by reforms. The goal of this research study is to identify the extent to which Chinese and expatriate English teachers use CLT in China, to discover the possible factors that prevent them from using CLT and to explore an English teaching method that …


The Role Of Inspiration In Scientific Scholarship And Discovery: Views Of Theistic Scientists, Kari Ann O'Grady Dec 2007

The Role Of Inspiration In Scientific Scholarship And Discovery: Views Of Theistic Scientists, Kari Ann O'Grady

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study examined the ways those who identify themselves as theistic scientists and scholars experience inspiration, as defined as divine guidance or influence, in their scientific scholarship and discovery. It also explored participants' beliefs about how scientists and scholars can seek and prepare to receive inspiration in their work. Open-ended surveys of 450 participants from the behavioral and natural sciences and from a variety of religious backgrounds were analyzed for content themes in the areas of experiences with inspiration, preparing to receive inspiration, and further thoughts on inspiration in science. The themes extracted indicated that these scientists and …


Solid Phase Crystallization Of Vanadium Dioxide Thin Films And Characterization Through Scanning Electron Microscopy, Felipe Rivera Dec 2007

Solid Phase Crystallization Of Vanadium Dioxide Thin Films And Characterization Through Scanning Electron Microscopy, Felipe Rivera

Theses and Dissertations

Crystalline films of vanadium dioxide were obtained through thermal annealing of amorphous vanadium dioxide thin films sputtered on silicon dioxide. An annealing process was found that yielded polycrystalline vanadium dioxide thin films, semi-continuous thin films, and films of isolated single-crystal particles. Orientation Imaging Microscopy (OIM) was used to characterize and study the phase and the orientation of the vanadium dioxide crystals obtained, as well as to diferentiate them from other vanadium oxide stoichiometries that may have formed during the annealing process. There was no evidence of any other vanadium oxides present in the prepared samples. Indexing of the crystals for …


Existing Practice And Proposed Changes In Cognitive Assessment Of Utah Students Identified As Deaf And Hard Hearing, Leah Voorhies Dec 2007

Existing Practice And Proposed Changes In Cognitive Assessment Of Utah Students Identified As Deaf And Hard Hearing, Leah Voorhies

Theses and Dissertations

This study presented the past, current, and proposed practice of intelligence testing with a unique population, students identified as deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH). As a basis for describing the cognitive ability of Utah's D/HH students and to improve practice guidelines, 61 D/HH students served by Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB) were administered the Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (UNIT) standard battery and the Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) subtests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). Based on these data, composite score distributions were described and compared with national standardization samples. Participants' WISC-IV PRI …


Constructive Enabling: Applying A Wilderness Skills Intervention To Support The Therapeutic Change Process Of Adolescent Females In Residential Treatment, Brian K. Malcarne Dec 2007

Constructive Enabling: Applying A Wilderness Skills Intervention To Support The Therapeutic Change Process Of Adolescent Females In Residential Treatment, Brian K. Malcarne

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential benefits of a primitive wilderness skills intervention (POST) on the therapeutic change process of adolescent females enrolled in a residential treatment center. A qualitative data analysis approach was used. A convenience sample of eight female adolescents was selected by therapist referral. The data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. Data analysis was used to assess participants' progress in the therapeutic change. Further analysis revealed a core theme connecting participants' POST experience with feelings of self-empowerment and reflective connections to their individual therapeutic change process. Constructive enabling was the …


The Effect Of Febrile Temperature On Plasmodium Falciparum, Heidi Sue Porter Dec 2007

The Effect Of Febrile Temperature On Plasmodium Falciparum, Heidi Sue Porter

Theses and Dissertations

Previously it has been shown that cultures of Plasmodium falciparum died following exposure to a febrile temperature of 40°C, as demonstrated by a decrease in parasitemia of the following generation. In the current study, the effect of 40°C treatment on culture media, erythrocytes, and parasite glucose consumption, were ruled out as possible influences on parasite death, demonstrating that 40°C impacted the parasites directly. Metabolic profiling of DNA synthesis, protein synthesis, and glucose utilization during exposure to 40°C clearly indicated that febrile temperatures had direct effect on major metabolic pathways and parasite development, beginning 20-24 hr after erythrocyte invasion. The ring …


Effects Of Endurance Training On The Ampk Response To Exercise., David Gerald Chesser Dec 2007

Effects Of Endurance Training On The Ampk Response To Exercise., David Gerald Chesser

Theses and Dissertations

Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) results in the upregulation of several intracellular systems which help to prepare a cell for a high energy challenge. The magnitude of the AMPK response to a 10 min bout of exercise has been found to decrease in red quadriceps (RQ) following training, while putative AMPK roles seem to be maintained; specifically, the biogenesis of mitochondria and higher levels of hexokinase II and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4). If the AMPK response to exercise is responsible in part for these adaptations, how can they be maintained if the AMPK response is attenuated? The purpose of …


Registered Dietitian Dress And The Effect Of Dietitian Dress On Perceived Professionalism, Connie Lynn Packer Dec 2007

Registered Dietitian Dress And The Effect Of Dietitian Dress On Perceived Professionalism, Connie Lynn Packer

Theses and Dissertations

People use others' dress to make assumptions, including how they believe the wearer will behave. Observers then adjust their behavior in response to the anticipated behavior of the wearer. Physician or nurse dress affects the degree to which patients perceive the medical professional as confident, experienced, competent, mature, trustworthy, and professional. Dietitian dress has not been studied. Our purpose was to identify 1) the current level of formality of dress of registered dietitians (RD), 2) characteristics of dress codes, 3) the effect of RD dress on patient/client perceptions of professional traits, and 4) the level of formality at which an …


A Process-Based Call Assessment: A Comparison Of Input Processing And Program Use Behavior By Activity Type, Kathryn Rimmasch Dec 2007

A Process-Based Call Assessment: A Comparison Of Input Processing And Program Use Behavior By Activity Type, Kathryn Rimmasch

Theses and Dissertations

In an effort to better understand the mental processing connected to different kinds of CALL activities, this study collected data on time subjects spent, as well as buttons subjects clicked while doing 10 different CALL activities accompanying a beginning French text book. In addition, a group of subjects thought out loud as they completed the same activities. These subjects were recorded on video, their thinking out loud was transcribed and the transcriptions were coded according to how they indicated they were dealing with the language input. The frequencies of coded categories were compared to see if there were connections between …


Family Leisure Involvement And Family Functioning In Samoa, Irene Dora Annandale Fotu Dec 2007

Family Leisure Involvement And Family Functioning In Samoa, Irene Dora Annandale Fotu

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to (a) examine the relationship between family leisure involvement and aspects of family functioning (adaptability and cohesion) among Samoan families residing on American Samoa, and (b) to compare the Samoan data to a broad sample of American families to provide a cross-cultural comparison. The sample consisted of 340 adult participants. The Family Leisure Activity Profile (FLAP) was used to measure family leisure involvement. FACES II was used to measure family functioning. Regression analyses conducted on the 340 individuals indicated a positive relationship between core family leisure involvement and family cohesion, adaptability, and overall family …


Women's Perceptions Of Parents, Peers, Romantic Partner And God As Predictive Of Symptoms Severity Among Women In Treatment For Eating Disorders At An Inpatient Facility, Samuel B. Tobler Dec 2007

Women's Perceptions Of Parents, Peers, Romantic Partner And God As Predictive Of Symptoms Severity Among Women In Treatment For Eating Disorders At An Inpatient Facility, Samuel B. Tobler

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined whether perceptions of parents, peers, romantic partners and God were predictive of eating disorder symptom severity among women in treatment for eating disorders. The sample included 417 women (ages 12 to 56 years) at an inpatient treatment facility for eating disorders. Participants completed a battery of assessment measures at intake and discharge. Change scores were also computed on all measures. Measures included indices of eating disorder symptomology, parental relationships, peer relationships, romantic partner relationships, and religious well-being. Multiple regression analysis showed perceptions of peers and romantic partner to be significant predictors in all analyses; however perceptions …


Description Of The Trio/Upward Bound Students' Construction Of Vocations Using George Kelly's Rep Test Method, Maraia Sokia Weingarten Dec 2007

Description Of The Trio/Upward Bound Students' Construction Of Vocations Using George Kelly's Rep Test Method, Maraia Sokia Weingarten

Theses and Dissertations

The Information Age is revolutionizing the way we communicate, acquire knowledge, and perform work. Society is shifting from occupations rooted in industrial production to those associated with knowledge and information, requiring the development of new skills for changing occupations and updating old educational methods. Educators need to be aware of economic and social changes and have a vision for how to design career education to respond to those changes. Individuals must also be prepared to learn on their own as careers evolve and change. The training necessary to adapt to the changing career culture needs to be made available to …


Energy Efficiency In Cold-Weather High-End Custom Homes, Joseph R. Kearl Dec 2007

Energy Efficiency In Cold-Weather High-End Custom Homes, Joseph R. Kearl

Theses and Dissertations

Nationally, there is increasing interest in energy efficient homes due to growing energy costs and increased awareness. However, many builders haven't yet incorporated energy saving products and practices into homes. Many builders don't have the resources to evaluate available options and prefer to rely on the experiences of other builders. The purpose of this study was to create energy efficiency benchmarks for cold-weather, high-end custom homes and evaluate current building practices. A list of energy-efficient products and practices was created through a review of relevant literature. A group of expert builders was formed into a committee to help determine energy …


Phylogeography Of The Livebearer Xenophallus Umbratilis (Teleostei: Poeciliidae): Glacial Cycles And Sea Level Change Predict Diversification Of A Freshwater Tropical Fish, Carissa Poole Jones Dec 2007

Phylogeography Of The Livebearer Xenophallus Umbratilis (Teleostei: Poeciliidae): Glacial Cycles And Sea Level Change Predict Diversification Of A Freshwater Tropical Fish, Carissa Poole Jones

Theses and Dissertations

The biogeography of Central America is considered a classical case study in understanding the impact of vicariant events on patterns of biotic dispersal. While many biogeographers have focused on community composition and geographic limits of species at broad scales across Central America, much less work has focused on post-colonization diversification patterns at finer scales. The livebearing freshwater fish Xenophallus umbratilis presents an ideal system for determining the impact of recent earth history events on biodiversity in northern Costa Rica. Here, we test the hypothesis that marine inundation of the San Carlos and Northern Limón basins during the Miocene has caused …


Mayanwiki: An Online, Consensus-Based Linguistic Corpus Of The Mayan Hieroglyphs, Robbie A. Haertel Dec 2007

Mayanwiki: An Online, Consensus-Based Linguistic Corpus Of The Mayan Hieroglyphs, Robbie A. Haertel

Theses and Dissertations

The writing system used by the ancient Maya civilization has intrigued researchers and aficionados for centuries. Now that it has mostly been deciphered, the emphasis in the field of Mayan epigraphy has shifted to a study of the system of phonological, morphological, and grammatical rules that once governed the language that the hieroglyphs encode. One of the most important resources for linguistic study of this type is a comprehensive, electronic corpus of texts to investigate phraseology, frequency information, and collocations. Because Mayan linguistic epigraphy is in the early stages, a publicly available, editable corpus would be an invaluable resource in …