Digital Commons Network^™

Structurally Supported Cell-Laden Scaffolds For Bone Tissue Regeneration, Stephen William Sawyer

Dissertations - ALL

Due to challenges associated with current clinical techniques used to treat bone defects, there has been an increased focus on finding a tissue engineered solution. However, while great progress in this field has been achieved, researchers have yet to suitably combine the proper biological and structural environments needed to serve as a complete bone tissue substitute that is comparable to modern clinical solutions.

To achieve the goal of creating a model bone tissue substitute which could eventually serve as a viable therapy for bone trauma, be it caused by congenital medical conditions, age related diseases or high impact forces, three …

Putting Forts In Their Place: The Politics Of Defense In Antigua, 1670-1785, Christopher Kurt Waters

Dissertations - ALL

Between 1670 and 1785, the plantation elite on the British island of Antigua built and maintained at least fifty-four fortifications to protect the island from other European competitors. Rather than being commissioned, engineered, and defended by the metropolitan government in London, the defense of the island was the sole purview of the Antiguan legislature. Money, designs, and locations for these defensive sites came from internal deliberations on the island making them unique places to study iterations of seventeenth and eighteenth century British colonialism, elite thinking, and the impact on the landscape. To interpret these sites, I use archaeological, archival, and …

Lemons Into Lemonade: Black Undergraduate Women's Embodiment Of Strength And Resilience At A Pwi, Jordan Shelby West

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation is a qualitative research project for Black undergraduate women and about Black undergraduate women. The aim of this dissertation is to lift, center, and share the lived experiences of Black undergraduate women as they reflect on the messages and memories of coming into their Blackness, their transition to and experiences while attending a PWI, and the ways in which they continue to make meaning of space. Informed by Black Feminist Theory and Critical Race Theory, the framework and methods used in this project prioritize the care of the participants and allow them to be co-creators of their own …

Deconvolution Of Membrane Protein-Detergent Complex Interactions, Aaron Wolfe

Dissertations - ALL

Membrane proteins are important in many biological functions such as cell-cell recognition, transport, and signaling; yet the study of these proteins is stunted due to their excessive aggregation in aqueous solutions. Detergents have been extensively exploited to mitigate this aggregation, and accomplish this by protecting the hydrophobic exterior of the membrane protein with their hydrophobic tails, while the polar heads of the detergents interact with the surrounding aqueous environment. Although detergents are of fundamental importance in many membrane protein studies, their selection is primarily done by trial and error screening. In this thesis, I will describe a method to utilize …

Ecohydrology Of Natural And Restored Wetlands In A Glacial Plain, Kyotaek Hwang

Dissertations - ALL

More than half of wetland area in the U.S. have been converted to other land use types for agricultural use and development. Limited understanding of ecological services provided to society by wetlands is another reason for the massive wetland loss in the past. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and the 1989 federal mandate of “no net wetland loss” supported increased efforts for wetland restoration and creation to compensate for two centuries of ecosystem degradation. Hydrology is a critical driver for wetland formation and sustainability, yet few studies have investigated the ecosystem benefits of restored or constructed wetlands relative …

On Classification In Human-Driven And Data-Driven Systems, Qunwei Li

Dissertations - ALL

Classification systems are ubiquitous, and the design of effective classification algorithms has been an even more active area of research since the emergence of machine learning techniques. Despite the significant efforts devoted to training and feature selection in classification systems, misclassifications do occur and their effects can be critical in various applications. The central goal of this thesis is to analyze classification problems in human-driven and data-driven systems, with potentially unreliable components and design effective strategies to ensure reliable and effective classification algorithms in such systems. The components/agents in the system can be machines and/or humans. The system components can …

Living Links: Examining Immigrant Teens' Experiences In Communication Technology Enhanced Transnational Spaces, Bethany Massey

Learning Sciences Dissertations

This study examined the technology-enhanced lived experiences of three Mexican-American secondary students in Southwestern United States. This work extends the research of Basch, Schiller and Blanc (1994) and Faist (2000) in which they explain that immigrant teens experience dual lives due to simultaneous connections that may have resulted in barriers and stressors between their host and home countries. The study answers a call from Velez-Ibanez and Greenberg (1992) and Gonzales, et al. (2005) for research that regards household practices as "funds of knowledge" or that are encountered through lived experiences and that may support the individual in making sense of …

An Examination Of Pre-Major Health Student's Readiness For Interprofessional Education At A Technical College, Ryan G. Cheek

Learning Sciences Dissertations

Interprofessional education (IPE) can be defined as knowledge gained when two or more professionals (or students) learn about, from, and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes (World Health Organization, 2010). The ultimate goal of IPE is to improve patient care outcomes through the promotion of teamwork, and through collaboration between various healthcare professionals. The current literature supports the notion that the concept of IPE should be initiated as early in the educational process as possible, and sustained throughout a student’s education. This study examined a group of early career health sciences students at a local …

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy In Teacher Education: Are We Adequately Preparing Pre-Service Teachers To Circumvent Cultural Marginality In The Classroom?, Chatee' Richardson

Communication Sciences and Disorders Dissertations

Research has shown that despite the growing population of diverse and ELL students in American schools, pre-service teachers are not adequately prepared to effectively deal with the current reality of a diverse classroom. The reason for this is twofold. First, the student population is becoming increasingly diverse when compared to the majority of teachers who are White, middle-class, monolingual English speaking females. Second, teacher preparation is lacking as it pertains to cultural competence.

The following mixed method study investigates two liberal arts based teacher education programs with a focus on culturally responsive teacher preparation. Through program analysis, faculty interviews, and …

A Potent Lassa Virus Antiviral Targets An Arenavirus Virulence Determinant, Ikenna G. Madu, Megan Files, Dima N. Gharaibeh, Amy L. Moore, Kieh-Hoon Jung, Brian B. Gowen, Dongcheng Dai, Kevin F. Jones, Shanthakumar R. Tyavanagimatt, James R. Burgeson, Marcus J. Korth, Kristin M. Bedard, Shawn P. Iadonato, Sean M. Amberg

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Arenaviruses are a significant cause of hemorrhagic fever, an often-fatal disease for which there is no approved antiviral therapy. Lassa fever in particular generates high morbidity and mortality in West Africa, where the disease is endemic, and a recent outbreak in Nigeria was larger and more geographically diverse than usual. We are developing LHF-535, a small-molecule viral entry inhibitor that targets the arenavirus envelope glycoprotein, as a therapeutic candidate for Lassa fever and other hemorrhagic fevers of arenavirus origin. Using a lentiviral pseudotype infectivity assay, we determined that LHF-535 had sub-nanomolar potency against the viral envelope glycoproteins from all Lassa …

Atypical Activation Of The G Protein Gα By The Oncogenic Mutation Q209p, Marcin Maziarz, Anthony Leyme, Arthur Marivin, Alex Luebbers, Prachi P. Patel, Zhe Chen, Stephen R. Sprang, Mikel Garcia-Marcos

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The causative role of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) pathway mutations in uveal melanoma (UM) has been well-established. Nearly all UMs bear an activating mutation in a GPCR pathway mediated by G proteins of the G family, driving tumor initiation and possibly metastatic progression. Thus, targeting this pathway holds therapeutic promise for managing UM. However, direct targeting of oncogenic Gα mutants, present in ∼90% of UMs, is complicated by the belief that these mutants structurally resemble active Gα WT. This notion is solidly founded on previous studies characterizing Gα mutants in which a conserved catalytic glutamine (Gln-209 in Gα) is replaced …

Tribal Tools & Legal Levers For Halting Fossil Fuel Transport & Exports Through The Pacific Northwest, Mary Christina Wood

American Indian Law Journal

As alarming scientific predictions crystallize into the realities of today’s climate crisis, tribal communities in the Pacific Northwest find themselves on the front lines of a global assault launched by the fossil fuel industry. Encouraged by President Trump’s declaration of intent to unleash $50 trillion of America’s domestic fossil fuels, corporations push for massive expansion of the nation’s fossil fuel infrastructure—even as the world races towards irrevocable climate thresholds. The unprecedented onslaught hinges on the Pacific Northwest as a key link in a global market scheme. The coastal region sits as a proposed industrial gateway for huge export facilities transporting …

Effectiveness Of Visual Cues During Transitions In A Third Grade Classroom, Tory Gaard

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of using visual cues during transition periods vs. verbal cues. The visual cues are a Google Slide with a list of the required materials and an embedded timer. The investigation employed ongoing monitoring of students during their transitions throughout the school day. The ongoing monitoring was documented using the attached data table. The data table tracked the time it takes students to transition, the # of students in attendance, number of students with all required materials, and the number of students in the correct location. Outcome analysis includes a comparison …

The Effect Of A Weekly Social Presence In Online Classes, Cindy Salfer

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study involved looking at the effect that providing a visual presence in online classes had on the students’ success on tests, overall achievement in the class, and retention. The instructor provided a weekly visual video to review weekly outcomes, summarize weekly expectations, and provide clarification on content and assignments. The literature on the importance of including engagement by the instructor and adding a human component to online classes for the most part supports the positive effects it can have on students completing online courses successfully. This research included comparing the results of two exams given in a Methods and …

The Use Of Media Technologies In Long-Distance Relationships, Paola P. Soto Herrera

Theses

Communication technologies have helped reduce personal distances and stay connected. This study pursued the following questions: What are the most popular media used to communicate in long-distance relationships? Are those in long-distance relationships more likely to use rich or lean media? Do family, friends, and romantic partners differ in their selection of media? Instant Messaging, social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat), telephone (cellular, mobile, or landline), online video chat, online audio chat, SMS, and regular mail were the most used media. Respondents were significantly more likely to use rich media. Romantic partners were more likely than either family or friends …

Identification Of Genes Required For Eye Development By High-Throughput Screening Of Mouse Knockouts., Bret A Moore, Brian C Leonard, Lionel Sebbag, Sydney G Edwards, Ann Cooper, Denise M Imai, Ewan Straiton, Luis Santos, Christopher Reilly, Stephen M Griffey, Lynette Bower, David Clary, Jeremy Mason, Michel J Roux, Hamid Meziane, Yann Herault, Colin Mckerlie, Ann M Flenniken, Lauryl M J Nutter, Zorana Berberovic, Celeste Owen, Susan Newbigging, Hibret Adissu, Mohammed Eskandarian, Chih-Wei Hsu, Sowmya Kalaga, Uchechukwu Udensi, Chinwe Asomugha, Ritu Bohat, Juan J Gallegos, John R Seavitt, Jason D Heaney, Arthur L Beaudet, Mary E Dickinson, Monica J Justice, Vivek M. Philip, Vivek Kumar, Karen L. Svenson, Robert E Braun, Sara Wells, Heather Cater, Michelle Stewart, Sharon Clementson-Mobbs, Russell Joynson, Xiang Gao, Tomohiro Suzuki, Shigeharu Wakana, Damian Smedley, J K Seong, Glauco Tocchini-Valentini, Mark Moore, Colin Fletcher, Natasha Karp, Ramiro Ramirez-Solis, Jacqueline K White, Martin Hrabe De Angelis, Wolfgang Wurst, Sara M Thomasy, Paul Flicek, Helen Parkinson, Steve D M Brown, Terrence F Meehan, Patsy M. Nishina, Stephen A. Murray, Mark P. Krebs, Ann-Marie Mallon, K C Kent Lloyd, Christopher J Murphy, Ala Moshiri

Faculty Research 2018

Despite advances in next generation sequencing technologies, determining the genetic basis of ocular disease remains a major challenge due to the limited access and prohibitive cost of human forward genetics. Thus, less than 4,000 genes currently have available phenotype information for any organ system. Here we report the ophthalmic findings from the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium, a large-scale functional genetic screen with the goal of generating and phenotyping a null mutant for every mouse gene. Of 4364 genes evaluated, 347 were identified to influence ocular phenotypes, 75% of which are entirely novel in ocular pathology. This discovery greatly increases the …

Factors Associated With Adults’ Perceptions Of Nicotine And Nicotine E-Liquid Harm To Young Children And Associations With Nicotine Handling Behaviors In The Home, Catherine Blanchard Kemp

Public Health Dissertations

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use has grown rapidly over the past decade. ENDS-specific harms have emerged among children (particularly those < 6 years), related to exposures to nicotine e-liquids (NEL) used in ENDS. Children have been identified as a priority population in terms of the potential and actual NEL-caused harm in the United States (US). Evidence is lacking examining contextual factors such as adults’ risk perceptions related to child NEL exposures and how these materials are handled in homes where children are present. Guided by the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), this dissertation focuses on adults’ risk perceptions of children’s exposure to nicotine and NEL handling practices in the home.

Study 1 examined risk perceptions related to children’s (< 13 years) exposure to nicotine generally (not product-specific) among a representative sample of US adults, and found that current tobacco product users, males, and persons from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds were significantly less likely to perceive nicotine as harmful to children. Study 2 examined risk perceptions related to children’s (< 6 years) exposure to NEL in two dose-levels by five exposure modes, among adults who lived with at least one child (< 6 years) and were ENDS users, non-users living with a user, or never-users in never using homes. Study 2 found that ENDS-users were significantly less likely (versus never users from never-user homes) to perceive NEL exposure as moderately or very dangerous in 7/10 of dose/mode dyads examined. Study 3 examined relationships between perceptions of NEL-related risk to children and NEL handling practices among adult ENDS-users and non-users living in ENDS using homes who also had a child (< 6 years). This study found that being a non-user was significantly associated with not knowing about the NEL handling practices in their home, and perceiving child NEL exposure as very dangerous was significantly associated with always using childproof caps.

These findings highlight the need to educate adults about nicotine’s harmfulness to children and to develop measures to protect children from nicotine and NEL exposures. Opportunities to improve all adults’ NEL-related knowledge to improve safety for children are also discussed.

A Report On The Estimates For E-Cigarette Use And Past Year Dental Visit - From 2015-2016 Nhanes And 2015 Nhis In The United States, Pavani Priyanka Karri

Public Health Theses

Introduction: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are battery-operated devices that entered the U.S. markets in 2007 and are marketed as safe alternatives to traditional cigarettes. The nicotine present in the e-cigarettes and the amount of vapor produced is a major concern for oral health. The purpose of this study is to report on the estimates for e-cigarette use from two different national surveys in the United States and to assess the association between e-cigarette use and outcomes related to dental care.

Methods: Data from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (n=5884), and from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey …

Examining The Association Of Distance To Hospitals With Labor And Delivery Services And Maternal Mortality Rates In Georgia Counties (2010-2016), Alina Karim

Public Health Theses

INTRODUCTION: There is no formal research conducted that accounts for maternal mortality rates in the state of Georgia in association to the distance to hospitals that provide labor and delivery services.

AIM: To raise awareness about the number of maternal deaths that occur in Georgia, provide better geographical and financial access to maternal care to bring about reform.

METHODS: A quantitative secondary analysis integrating the spatial aspect of distance to hospitals from a centroid for each county was used to explore how maternal mortality rates differ across the 159 counties in Georgia, aggregating data from years 2010 to 2016. Other …

Three Essays On The Management Of Local Government Cash Flows, Michelle Lynn Lofton

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation is composed of three essays which evaluate financial strategies used to manage cash flows and the broader working capital management process in local governments. The objective of this dissertation is to address unresolved questions in the literature regarding the use of short-term financial resources to improve a government’s internal operating process and successfully navigate challenging fiscal environments. Together, the three essays contribute to our understanding of cash flow management strategies and the consequences of their implementation in United States local governments.

The first essay, in Chapter 2, evaluates the motivating factors that encourage managers to use an external …

Characterizing Ancient Chemoclines Through The Use Of Pigment Biomarkers And Sedimentary Stable Isotope Signatures, Benjamin T. Uveges

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation focuses on identifying and qualifying chemocline dynamics, namely depth and stability, in stratified aquatic systems through the use of sedimentary pigments and the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of organic matter. The central aim of the research comprising this volume is to identify how chemocline fluctuations are expressed in the pigment and stable isotope signatures of aquatic sediments, and how those fluctuations may have impacted nutrient cycling in past intervals of marine anoxia and mass extinction.

In order to help gauge how the depth of the chemocline may affect specific pigment signatures and concentrations in sediments, I first …

Gaseous State: A Historical Geography Of Natural Gas And The Capitalist State In An Age Of Climate Change, Carlo Sica

Dissertations - ALL

In the 1930s U.S., a set of social forces and crises pushed forward state energy regulation. As states struggle to end greenhouse-gas emissions from fossil fuels, the threat of climate change demands new explanations for how energy policy emerges. In this dissertation, I explain the period of U.S. natural gas regulation between 1938 and 1978 from critical political economy and Marxist state theoretical perspectives. My main conclusion is that the capitalist state stabilizes markets for energy to serve capital with an auxiliary means of production. Based on that conclusion, I recommend that Marxist state theory be class-centered, i.e., recognize that …

Regulation Of In Vivo Excitatory/Inhibitory Balance By The Cystine/Glutamate Exchanger System Xc-, Sheila Marie Shahidzadeh Sears

Dissertations - ALL

System xc- (Sxc-) is a cellular antiporter that links the import of L-cystine with the export of L-glutamate. In the central nervous system (CNS), this export contributes to the ambient glutamate levels found in the synaptic cleft. To wit, a 50% reduction in extracellular glutamate has been demonstrated in animals null for the substrate-specific light chain, xCT. Moreover, in most tissues, including the CNS, cystine import through Sxc- is necessary for the synthesis and maintenance of glutathione (GSH) levels. Given that either a reduction in ambient glutamate levels and/or a redox imbalance involving GSH have been reported to affect synaptic …

Three Essays On Labor And Public Economics, Fabio Augusto Rueda De Vivero

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation consists of three chapters in the area of applied microeconomics. Using a variety of quasi-experimental research designs, they study the labor market effects of a wage subsidy in a highly informal economy, the impact of a tax-breaks program on small formal firms' entrance decision and the probability of survival, and the impact of exposure to neighborhood crime on school absenteeism, respectively.

The first chapter studies the labor market effects of a wage subsidy introduced in Colombia's First Job Act. It exploits changes in the labor earnings distribution to measure how the policy change affected net employment, the relative …

“Is That Okay With You?”: Examining A Simulated Discussion About Accommodations Between University Students Identified As Having A Disability And A Standardized Faculty Member, Justin E. Freedman

Dissertations - ALL

Postsecondary students identified as having a disability in the United States are commonly expected to discuss the use of disability-related accommodations with faculty members. Researchers have previously used surveys and interviews to examine what students report about discussing accommodations with faculty members. However, little is known about how students advocate in the moment when communicating with faculty members about accommodations. In this study, I designed a clinical simulation to examine how 15 university students identified as having a disability engaged in and reflected upon a meeting with a standardized faculty member – an actor who I trained to communicate questions …

Adapting Proteins For Clinical And Industrial Use, Michelle Takacs

Dissertations - ALL

Enzymes are powerful tools that are capable of catalyzing reactions with high specificity and efficiency. Many naturally occurring enzymes are used as tools in industry and medicine, from food additives to pharmaceuticals to biofuel production. Protein engineering is used to make enzymes more readily available, to gain new or improved catalytic function, or optimize properties such as thermostability and enantioselectivity. In this thesis we will discuss the variety of ways proteins can be modified to one day be able to be put to use in industrial and clinical settings.

My goal has been to optimize proteins for industrial and clinical …

Identifying The Genetic Mechanisms In Seizure Threshold Regulation, Yifan Gong

Dissertations - ALL

Epilepsy is a brain disease defined by having recurrent and spontaneous seizures. The susceptibility to seizure is determined by seizure threshold, which describes the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission in the brain. Epileptogenesis, the transition from normal brain to epileptic brain, is accompanied by a progressive reduction of seizure threshold and has been shown to have genetic influences. Expression of neuronal cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene, PTGS2, a primary gene that regulates prostaglandin synthesis in the normal brain, is enhanced by excitatory neurotransmission and is under tight regulation of N-Methyl-D-Aspartate type glutamate receptor (NMDAR) activity in cortical neurons. The 3’ untranslated …

Photolysis Kinetics Of Aromatic Pollutants In Liquid And Solid Environmental Condensed Phases, Alexa Stathis

Dissertations - ALL

Condensed phases in the environment are often chemically complex. Reactivity can differ significantly depending on the physical state (i.e. solid or liquid) and composition. Many laboratory studies that investigate reaction kinetics in condensed phases are done under simplified conditions that do not accurately reflect the complexity found in the environment. I have measured photolysis rate constants of the aromatic pollutants toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes (TEX) and anthracene under environmentally-relevant conditions in order to improve fate predictions. The photolysis kinetics of TEX in water, ice and at ice surfaces were investigated using environmentally-relevant wavelengths. Previously, photolysis has not been considered a viable …

Predicting Accounting Misstatements Within Industries And Accounts, Emily Cokeley

Dissertations - ALL

This study examines variables that may be useful in predicting accounting misstatements. Using a database of Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release information and building on recent models and methodology, I separate the observations by industry to determine the firm and financial statement variables that are most useful in predicting the firms within specific industries that may have accounting misstatements. I also extend the previous models to determine the significant variables in predicting not only which firms may have misstatements, but also the account(s) in which a misstatement is likely to have occurred. These models use information that is readily available …

Comparative Ecophysiology Of Native And Invasive Plants Across Populations, Species, And Continents, Kelsey Anne Martinez

Dissertations - ALL

Invasive species are a persistent threat to biodiversity and agriculture that cost countries millions of dollars each year. Despite the scale and impact of the problem of invasive species, it remains a mystery why some introduced species become invasive and others remain benign. Here, I examined the theory that invasive species possess key traits which make them successful invaders. Specifically, I investigated the hypotheses that 1) plasticity increases invasive species’ success compared to native species, 2) invaders evolve rapidly in their new ranges, 3) invasive species avoid tradeoffs apparent in natives related to growth, resource use, or defense. Using 30 …