Digital Commons Network^™

Molecular And Genetic Analysis Of The Orpk Mouse Model Of Polycystic Kidney Disease : Searching For Treatments And Modifer Genes, Carla S. Sommardahl

Doctoral Dissertations

The orpk line of mice was previously identified as a unique model for human polycystic kidney disease. The most prominent phenotype is the invariable development of bilateral polycystic kidneys and abnormalities in the intrahepatic biliary tract and pancreas.

Taxol has been reported to be of therapeutic benefit in the cpk mouse model of polycystic kidney disease. The effects of taxol treatment on the development of renal cysts and biliary dysplasia/hyperplasia in the orpk mouse mutant were studied. There were no significant differences between the treatment and control groups with respect to weight gain, survival, urine to serum osmolality ratio, and …

Venturi Drift Reduction Nozzles : Spray Pattern Characteristics, Efficacy Of Postemergence Herbicides, And Accuracy Of Herbicide Placement, Robert E. Etheridge

Doctoral Dissertations

Laboratory and field studies were conducted to evaluate the drift potential and efficacy of commonly used postemergence herbicides applied through venturi-type drift reduction nozzles as compared to a standard flat fan nozzle. Laboratory studies were conducted utilizing a Malvem laser droplet/particle size analyzer to determine the droplet spectra produced by a given nozzle. Spray solutions of glufosinate, glyphosate, and paraquat were applied through all combinations of five nozzle types (four venturi), three tip sizes, and four application pressures. Nozzles were also evaluated for pattern uniformity utilizing water plus surfactant at one pressure. When averaged over herbicide, tip size, and pressure …

Application Of Municipal Biosolids For Production Of Tomatoes And Snap Beans, Rebecca Aynn Gilfillen

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the use of biosolid materials as a fertilizer in the production of tomatoes and snap beans. Biosolid materials are being produced at an ever increasing rate and land application of these materials is potentially one of the best economic and environmental options. Treatments for tomatoes were established as a control, inorganic fertilizer, liquid-slurry applied at N or P rate and co-compost municipal solid waste applied at N or P rate. Snap bean treatments were a control, inorganic fertilizer, liquid slurry and co-compost applied at P rate. Data was collected on yields of tomato and snap beans. Fruit …

Flavor And Storage Stability Of Potato Chips Fried In Cottonseed And Sunflower Oils And Sunflower:Palm Olein Oil Blends, Philipus Pangloli

Doctoral Dissertations

To increase stability of sunflower oil (SFO) during frying and of potato chips during storage, 20 and 40% palm oil olein (POO) were added to SFO and compared to cottonseed oil (CSO). The oils/blends were sampled fresh, after break-in heating and at 2 5- and 5-hr frying. Oils were analyzed for of fatty acid composition, C18:2/C16:0 ratio, total polar compounds (TPO), free fatty acids (FFA), conjugated dienoic acids (ODA), and color. Moisture and fat levels and Agtron color of fresh chips were determined. Potato chips from each oil/blend were stored for 0 wk and 3 or 6 wk in dark …

Independent Readers Increase Library Use, Joanne Patricia Harrell

Masters Theses

This study focuses on the use of the Accelerated Reader^R program at Ellis Elementary School in Belding, Michigan. The students were introduced to the program in January, 1999. The students were encouraged to use the program through the end of the school year, June, 1999.

The Accelerated Reader (AR) program is a reading program which uses the computer to test students on literature-based books from the library they have read independently. Students earn points for the tests that they pass based on the number right and the difficulty of the book. The computer keeps track, for the students and …

A Post Hoc Study Of Young Motherhood, Diane Long Joines

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was a phenomenological description of the experience of young women who became teenage mothers and went on to complete their high school education. Using the dialogic interview, six women were asked to talk about the experience of being pregnant and being a mother while they were in school. Thenarratives, though different in content, were rich in detail and depth and revealed a structure consistent across all interviews.The method of analysis in phenomenological studies is the hermeneutic circle. In This tradition, data was analyzed with my major professor, an interpretive group, and a fellow group member. …

The Beauties And Beasts Of Nineteenth-Century French Fiction, Patricia Ann Mccoy

Doctoral Dissertations

For a number of years prior to commencing the research for this dissertation, the author of this study worked with ethnographic appropriations of popular motifs from fairy tales and myths. It was here that she first discovered the unique renderings of certain themes from one generation to the other and from one century into another. The investigation described in the pages that follow are but one facet of the author's interest in textual poachings, reader response, and horizons of expectation in literature, film, theater, and the fine arts applied to certain works of nineteenth-century French fiction.In this study of "The …

Genetic Control Of Eye Development, A Case Study Focused On The Murine Mutation Belly Spot And Tail (Bst), Qing Tang

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Development of the eye is controlled by a network of genes, often conserved, that regulate the timing and location of cellular differentiation. One approach to understanding this network of genes and their interaction is to focus on mutations, spontaneous or induced, that predictably disrupt the proper function of such networks, and by examining the effect of such disruption on the function of other genes.

The Belly spot and tail (Bst) semi-dominant mutation, mapped to mouse Chromosome 16, leads to developmental defects of the eye, skeleton, and coat pigmentation. In the eye, the mutant phenotype is characterized by the presence of …

The Deterministic Repeatable Inventory Routing Problem, Anurag Agarwal

Doctoral Dissertations

The Deterministic Repeatable Inventory Routing Problem (DRIRP) is a combination of a Vehicle Routing Problem and an Inventory ManagementProblem. It is the problem of finding a set of vehicle routes and delivery/pickup amounts servicing customers with deterministic production rates. The customers have limited local storage and thus a visit must be scheduled before the stockout or overflow level is reached. The objective of the problem is to minimize the per unit cost of picking up the product.Moreover, the problem is constrained to finding solutions that are repeatable in a cyclic fashion. This means that, once established, an optimal routingstrategy can …

Aspects Of The Biology Of Daphnia Lumhotzi (Sars) In Ft. Loudoun Reservoir, Tennessee, Rebecca S. Brown

Doctoral Dissertations

The introduction of a species generates interest in its life history, ecosystem impacts,and reasons for successful colonization. Daphnia lumholtzi is an introduced zooplankton species native to Africa, Australia, and Asia. The first report of D. lumholtzi was in 1991 in Fairfield Lake, Texas. Since 1991, D. lumholtzi has become widespread throughout the southwest and south central states and as far north as Ohio. In Tennessee, D.lumholtzi has dispersed throughout many of the Tennessee Valley Authority reservoirs.To study the dynamics of D. lumholtzi in a local aquatic system. Ft. Loudoun Reservoir,a riverine reservoir in the Tennessee Valley Authority system, was chosen …

Solventless Suzuki-Coupling Reactions On Palladium Doped Potassium Fluoride Alumina, Clayton Maxwell Hair

Doctoral Dissertations

Reactions of boronic acids with organic halides in the presence of palladium catalysts, the Suzuki Reaction, play an important role in modern organic chemistry. Numerous organic syntheses performed in the presence of alumina, Al₂O₃, exist in the literature. It has been found that the Suzuki-Coupling reaction can be carried out on commercially available alumina doped with potassium fluoride, 40% by weight, in the complete absence of organic solvents. This new solid phase synthesis is convenient, efficient, and environmentally friendly. The effects of substrate, temperature, reactant ratio, base, catalyst concentration, and the unique character of the KF/Al …

The Social-Psychological Grief Environment Of Male Prison Inmates, William T. Edwards

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Sociology by William T. Edwards on December 1, 1999.

Living As Subject : The Stories Of Five Women With Disabilities, Lois M. Symington

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to increase our understanding of the processes by which a select group of women with disabilities have reached a position of subjectivity. Subjectivity is defined as a process of becoming—a process in which women placed on the margin of society define themselves and use power and agency to effect personal change as well as change in others. Women with disabilities are oppressed, perceived and portrayed as roleless, and considered objects of pity and sympathy.

The five women participating in this study have developed critical consciousness about their status in our society, and in …

Understanding Isothermal Crystallization And Subsequent Melting Behavior Of Syndiotactic Polypropylene, Pitt Supaphol

Doctoral Dissertations

Various issues related to isothermal quiescent crystallization and subsequent melting behavior of syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) were investigated in this dissertation. On the study of isothermal melt- and cold-crystallization kinetics and subsequent melting behavior of sPP, the overall crystallization rate parameters for melt-crystallization process, when plotted as a function of crystallization temperature, exhibited an unmistakable double bell-shaped curve; whereas, those for cold-crystallization process showed the typical bell-shaped curve. Comparison of the overall crystallization rate parameters obtained for both melt- and cold-crystallization processes indicate that crystallization from the glassy state proceeds at a much greater rate than from the melt state. The …

A Study Of The Variational Aspects For The Fock Expansion Of The Solution Of Hydrogenic Atoms In Constant Magnetic Fields, James B. Sternberg

Doctoral Dissertations

The study of hydrogen in a constant magnetic field has been one of the most persistent problems in non-relativistic quantum mechanics. Although it is conceptually one of the simplest problems that one can think of, the non-separability of the Schrodinger Equation containing both a Coulombic term and a constant magnetic term in theHamiltonian has made the problem especially difficult. In this dissertation, we apply a solution in the form of the Fock expansion to this problem. It is shown that the logarithmic terms which are associated with the Fock expansion vanish. We then derive and solve a three term recurrence …

A History Of The 1970x Office Of Women's Programs At The University Of Tennessee : A Forerunner To Change, Lin Stepp

Doctoral Dissertations

This study has documented the history of the Office of Women'sPrograms at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and described the experiences of participants who helped to begin or worked with theUniversity office. Records and information regarding the Office ofWomen's Programs had not been retained, and its history, contributions,and leaders were being forgotten.Information for the descriptive history and participant themes,and the answers to the research questions, were found by (1) studying related literature, (2) interviewing participants, (3) analyzing written documents and archival records, and (4) looking for artifacts to provide visual evidence. The cumulative data were analyzed and synthesized into a …

Betting The Farm : The Effect Of Prior Performance On The Framing Of Strategic Risk Decisions, Craig A. Turner

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to address the effects of prior performance on strategic risk decisions of the firm. Strategy researchers have traditionally sought to focus on the impacts of strategic risk decisions. such asResearch and Development, Diversification, Credit Risk,and Financial Risk, on performance. The findings have been inconclusive and many times contradictory. Thisresearch is based on the premise that the prior performance of the firm and the outcomes associated with the risk decision involved will effect decisions related to the risk. Therefore, this dissertation seeks to provide insight into the question what is the nature of the relationship …

The Experience Of Religious Serpent Handling : A Phenomenological Study, William Paul Williamson

Doctoral Dissertations

An interesting practice among certain Holiness-Pentecostal sects of Appalachia is the religious taking up of venomous serpents in obedience to a perceived mandate of scripture-Mark 16:17-18. The purpose of the present study was to describe the first person experience of this practice through use of a phenomenological method involving dialogic interviews and hermeneutic interpretation. In the course of this investigation, 17 participants, 5 of them women, were engaged in open-ended dialogue in which they described various personal experiences of handling poisonous serpents. From a hermeneutic analysis of the transcribed texts, a consistent pattern of four major themes emerged to characterize …

Stability Analysis Of Rock Blocks Around Tunnels, Yan Wu

Doctoral Dissertations

The mechanical response of rock blocks around tunnels is affected by factors such as the orientation and shear strength of the rock joints, the redistributed stresses, supportforces and other applied loads, and the shape and size of the tunnel. The safety of rock blocks can be studied by means of block theory. Since block theory ignores surface tractions arising from redistributed stresses, it tends to be over-conservative and may lead to uneconomical designs. When redistributed stresses are considered, however, the system of forces governing block safety becomes statically indeterminate. Indeterminacy in the mechanical response leads to uncertainty in determination of …

Pedagogy And Power Relations In English Studies ; Insights From Literary And Rhetorical Theory, Jeffrey Walter Walkington

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examine, against a history of current literature and composition teaching, the question of teacher authority versus student freedom in four different sites: the writing conference, especially as it takes place in writing centers; the“open” class discussion, particularly the issue of whether it encourages dissent or defusesit; non authoritarian strategies such as teaching in a circle and all they signify about classroom hierarchies; and the use of networked computers in the reading and writing course, which has been both endorsed and excoriated by leaders in the discipline.Chapter two draws heavily on recent social constructionist theories of composition …

Analysis Of A Transmission-Based Robotic Servoactuator Concept, Thomas Christopher Widner

Doctoral Dissertations

This research was a pioneering effort toward the investigation of incorporating multi-speed transmissions into electric actuation devices for robotic and industrial applications. This new idea has been conceptually developed from first principles using an application-based approach to parametric study. First, the full gamut of literature, both from the academic and research domains, was exhaustively surveyed. The design space criteria of an existing robot manipulator design was revisited for the purpose of studying feasibility for the transmission-based actuator (TBA) concept. This initial study verified that with conservative assumptions concerning gross transmission parameters, size, and weight, distributed actuation is possible …

Effect Of Calendaring On Flexographic Print Ability Of Linerboard, William P. Woods

Masters Theses

Today's corrugated board end user demands a higher quality than ever. Retailing techniques are moving toward so-called ''value-added packaging," which consists of high quality printed packaging that works to sell the product from the shelf. To preserve'its dominance in the corrugated market, the flexographic printing industry must find new ways to cost effectively satisfy the new demands.

One possibility is the use of an additional calendering step to give the linerboard better printability. This study evaluated two different types of calenders: the shoe (extended nip) calender and the hot/soft nip calender (Appendix A). The test material was commercially produced linerboard, …

Calibration, Installation Techniques, And Initial Measurements For Vertical Resistivity Probes Used In Hydrogeologic Investigations, Jeffrey Mark Groncki

Masters Theses

Vertical Resistivity Probes (VRPs) are being increasingly used in a variety of applications where detailed vertical resistivity information in both the vadose and saturated zones is needed. All the different possible array types and spacings must be calibrated for the effect of the 2" (outer diameter) insulating PVC cylinder on which the electrodes are mounted. Apparent resistivities must be corrected by calibration factors. Varying the installation parameters greatly influences the measured apparent resistivity because of the disturbed annulus and the composition of the backfill materials. Bentonite slurry is necessary for the installations to keep the electrodes in good contact with …

Quantifying A Key Injection Molding Attribute Defect, Kristopher Bryan Horton

Masters Theses

A mounting demand for high quality, low cost plastic injection molded products brings with it goals such as low or even zero defects. In order to achieve these types of "world class" expectations, resources are used to monitor and control variable data such as cycle time, part weight or dimensions. Despite this emphasis on variable data, parts are often rejected based on attribute molding defects such as sink marks or splay that are measured by subjective criteria and therefore difficult to control. Appearance of a part once considered acceptable may no longer be, due to changing expectations or subjective interpretation …

Estimation Of Parameters For Calibration And Validation Of Monochlorobenzene Flux, Christina Hill

Electronic Dissertations and Theses

Research is currently being conducted to enhance the existing pump-and-treat remediation strategy at the Petro Processors, Incorporated site (PPI)-a petrochemical disposal site consisting of two locations in East Baton Rouge Parish (Louisiana). Monochlorobenzene, a biodegradation byproduct of hexaclorobenzene, is a toxic chemical prevalent at the site; the diffusivity of monochlorobenzene is being studied through desorption experiments. The objective of soil desorption experiments is to determine soil-water distribution or partition coefficients. Partitioning is the distribution of solutes between two phases such as solid phase and a liquid (aqueous) phase. The derivation of acceptable partition coefficients "are used in [models] to determine …

The Relationship Between African Self Consciousness And Attitudes In Heterosexual Relationships Among African American College Students In Two Different Settings, Rhonda M. Dalrymple

Electronic Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between African Self-Consciousness and attitudes towards interpersonal relationships among African American college students, ending classes at a predominantly white university, Northwestern State University, and at a predominantly black university, Southern University. The ASC scale was used to assess the Black personality construct of African self-consciousness. The BHR survey was used to assess the subjects' perceptions concerning heterosexual relationships. The findings support the hypothesis that ASC is directly related to whether the individual possesses Afrocentric or Eurocentric beliefs and attitudes. A direct relationship was found between environment and attitudes of the …

The Relationship Between African Self Consciousness And Attitudes In Heterosexual Relationships Among African American College Students In Two Different Settings, Rhonda M. Dalrymple

Electronic Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between African Self-Consciousness and attitudes toward interpersonal relationships among African American college students ending classes at a predominantly white university, Northwestern State University, and at a predominantly black university, Southern University. The ASC scale was used to assess the Black personality construct of African self-consciousness. The BHR survey was used to assess the subjects' perceptions concerning heterosexual relationships. The findings support the hypothesis that ASC is directly related to whether the individual possesses Afrocentric or Eurocentric beliefs and attitudes. A direct relationship was found between the environment and attitudes of …

Photoperiodic And Pineal Modification Of The Effect Of 6-Methoxybenzoxazolinone On Deciduoma Growth In Rats, Everett S. Nixon

Electronic Dissertations and Theses

The compound 6-methoxybenzoxazolinone (6-MBOA) is a nonestrogenic compound that enhances reproduction. Decidualization, marked by the decidual cell reaction, is a process that causes the transformation of the uterine stromal cells into decidual cells. The purpose of the study was to determine the reproductive role of 6-MBOA during decidualization in rats exposed to a short photoperiod (8L: 16D), and a long photoperiod (16L: 8D). Decidualization was induced by surgical uterine scratch trauma unto the anti-mesometrial surface of the uterine epithelium on day 4 of pseudopregnancy (PPG) a reproductive state that precedes and converges into decidualization. Rats were treated with subcutaneous doses …

Manipulating Images Of Women's Power In Elizabethen England: Elizabeth I, Spenser, And Shakespeare, Amanda Kaye Martin

Theses & Dissertations

This work celebrates the influence of Elizabeth I on Elizabethan society and literature. In the opening of his Shakespearean Negotiations. Stephen Greenblatt describes writing as an outlet for the dead to speak to the living through "textual traces of themselves" that "make themselves heard in the voices of the living". These textual traces form the foundation for the critical theory of New Historicism, which perceives such traces as a conduit for literary critics to learn about an author's view of the nation, and era, in which he or she lived. In "The Elizabethan Subject and the Spenserian Text," Louis …

Stress Experienced By Respite Care Workers And Family Caregivers When Caring For Alzheimer's Patients, Monica D. Minewiser

Theses & Dissertations

Changing demographics and cost containment in health care in caring for the Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patient has given birth to a growing need for respite care workers. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the stress level of a respite care worker who works with an AD patient in a noninstitutionalized setting on a daily basis will be significantly less than that of a family caregiver when caring for an AD patient. The Revised Memory and Behavior Problem Checklist (RMBPC) was the instrument used to measure stress. This is a questionnaire consisting of 24 questions and allows 5 …