Digital Commons Network^™

Microbiota Metabolism Of Soluble Fiber Protects Against Low Grade Inflammation And Metabolic Syndrome, Jennifer Miles-Brown

Biology Dissertations

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a group of obesity-related metabolic abnormalities that predisposes to type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease. The dramatic increase in incidence of obesity and MetS over the last 25 years amidst relatively constant host genetics supports the role for non-genetic factors such as gut microbiota composition as an important contributor to the development of these disorders. Microbiota can interact with the host, in a manner influenced by genetics and diet that result in low-grade chronic inflammation. A critical risk factor for the pathogenesis of obesity and its related MetS involves alteration of gut microbiota composition …

Two Perspectives On Writing: A Cross-Context Study Of Second Language Writing, Hae Sung Yang

Applied Linguistics and English as a Second Language Dissertations

The focus of writing pedagogy for L2 undergraduate writers in ESL contexts has been primarily on addressing writing demands across the curriculum (Johns, 2009; Silva, 1990). The literature from EFL settings, however, depicts a very complex picture that makes it difficult to generalize purposes and needs across the settings (Cimasko & Reichelt, 2011). Despite the indication that L2 writing is differently conceptualized across many settings, few studies have been conducted to examine contextual variation. Documenting local conceptions and contextual factors in different settings could not only inform teachers of the importance of accounting for local exigencies in teaching, but also …

The Implementation Of 311 Technology In Local Government And The Impact On Citizen-Initiated Contacting, Emefa Sewordor

Public Management and Policy Dissertations

Prior studies have documented the expanded role of 311 non-emergency systems in public participation, public management and performance management in local governments. Three-one-one began as a simple telephone-based system for requesting non-emergency services and now plays an important role in local governments. Yet, there are very few insights into the impact of 311 systems on their public users, even as local governments increasingly turn to 311 as a public engagement tool, using it to facilitate citizen-initiated contacts. This dissertation explores two research questions. First, how has 311 technology affected citizen behavior? Second, has the introduction of a 311 system produced …

Covering Africa In The Age Of Independence: Divergent Voices In U.S. Print Media, 1957-1975, Carrie L. Whitney

History Dissertations

This dissertation critically examines how U.S. print media sought to represent the realities of decolonizing and newly independent countries in West Africa by focusing on pivotal events and charismatic leaders from the “non” vote in Guinea in 1958 to the radical appeal of Amilcar Cabral in Guinea-Bissau in 1973. The framing and agenda setting of mainstream media coverage turned leaders and events into metonyms not only for peoples and nations but also for Africa and Africans as a whole. However, the complexities of West Africa, such as political rivalry in the Congo or civil war in Nigeria, troubled such representations. …

The Time Is At Hand: The Development Of Spatial Representations Of Time In Children?S Speech And Gesture, Lauren Stites

Psychology Dissertations

Children achieve increasingly complex language milestones initially in gesture before they do so in speech. In this study, we ask whether gesture continues to be part of the language-learning process as children develop more abstract language skills, namely metaphors. More specifically, we focus on spatial metaphors for time and ask whether developmental changes in children’s production of such metaphors in speech also become evident in gesture and what cognitive and linguistic factors contribute to these changes. To answer these questions, we analyzed the speech and gestures produced by three groups of children (ages 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8)—all learning English as …

Novel Nonparametric Methods For Roc Curves, Yueheng An

Mathematics Dissertations

The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve is a widely used graphical method for evaluating the discriminating power of a diagnostic test or a statistical model in various areas such as epidemiology, industrial quality control and material testing, etc. One important quantitative measure summarizing the ROC curve is the area under the ROC curve (AUC). The accuracy of two diagnostic tests with right censored data can be compared using the difference of two ROC curves and the difference of two AUC's. Moreover, the difference of two volumes under surfaces (VUS) is investigated to compare two treatments for the discrimination of three-category …

Data Dissemination And Information Diffusion In Social Networks, Guoliang Liu

Computer Science Dissertations

Data dissemination problem is a challenging issue in social networks, especially in mobile social networks, which grows rapidly in recent years worldwide with a significant increasing number of hand-on mobile devices such as smart phones and pads. Short-range radio communications equipped in mobile devices enable mobile users to access their interested contents not only from access points of Internet but also from other mobile users. Through proper data dissemination among mobile users, the bandwidth of the short-range communications can be better utilized and alleviate the stress on the bandwidth of the cellular networks. In this dissertation proposal, data dissemination problem …

Computational Methods For Sequencing And Analysis Of Heterogeneous Rna Populations, Olga Glebova

Computer Science Dissertations

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and mass spectrometry technologies bring unprecedented throughput, scalability and speed, facilitating the studies of biological systems. These technologies allow to sequence and analyze heterogeneous RNA populations rather than single sequences. In particular, they provide the opportunity to implement massive viral surveillance and transcriptome quantification. However, in order to fully exploit the capabilities of NGS technology we need to develop computational methods able to analyze billions of reads for assembly and characterization of sampled RNA populations.

In this work we present novel computational methods for cost- and time-effective analysis of sequencing data from viral and RNA samples. In …

Building Occupancy Simulation And Data Assimilation Using A Graph Based Agent Oriented Model, Sanish Rai

Computer Science Dissertations

Building occupancy simulation and estimation simulates the dynamics of occupants and estimates the real time spatial distribution of occupants in a building. It can benefit various applications like conserving energy, smart assist, building construction, crowd management, and emergency evacuation. Building occupancy simulation and estimation needs a simulation model and a data assimilation algorithm that assimilates real-time sensor data into the simulation model. Existing build occupancy simulation models include agent-based models and graph-based models. The agent-based models suffer high computation cost for simulating a large number occupants, and graph-based models overlook the heterogeneity and detailed behaviors of individuals. Recognizing the limitations …

Decentralized Convex Optimization For Wireless Sensor Networks, Goutham Kamath

Computer Science Dissertations

Many real-world applications arising in domains such as large-scale machine learning, wired and wireless networks can be formulated as distributed linear least-squares over a large network. These problems often have their data naturally distributed. For instance applications such as seismic imaging, smart grid have the sensors geographically distributed and the current algorithms to analyze these data rely on centralized approach. The data is either gathered manually, or relayed by expensive broadband stations, and then processed at a base station. This approach is time-consuming (weeks to months) and hazardous as the task involves manual data gathering in extreme conditions. To obtain …

Privacy Preserving Data Mining For Horizontally Distributed Medical Data Analysis, Yunmei Lu

Computer Science Dissertations

To build reliable prediction models and identify useful patterns, assembling data sets from databases maintained by different sources such as hospitals becomes increasingly common; however, it might divulge sensitive information about individuals and thus leads to increased concerns about privacy, which in turn prevents different parties from sharing information. Privacy Preserving Distributed Data Mining (PPDDM) provides a means to address this issue without accessing actual data values to avoid the disclosure of information beyond the final result. In recent years, a number of state-of-the-art PPDDM approaches have been developed, most of which are based on Secure Multiparty Computation (SMC). SMC …

Please, Read The Comments: Exploring The Racial Dialectic Of Online Racial Discourse, Ifeanyichukwu U. Ukpabi

Sociology Theses

More people than ever before are living significant portions of their social lives online due to advancements in internet technology. Over the last few years, we have begun to see the most public discussions of racism increasingly occur online, to be later embedded in the public’s consciousness. It is therefore important for race critical scholars to observe how digital spaces affect racial discourse in the United States. Utilizing a race critical perspective, I explore comment section reactions to counter-framing articles to examine contemporary racial discourse. Through a discourse analysis, I find that counter-framing articles initiate the racial dialectic by inviting …

Essays On The Role And Influence Of Top Managers On Firm Interactions With Secondary Stakeholders, François Neville

Managerial Sciences Dissertations

Firm behavior and performance has become increasingly susceptible to the influence of secondary stakeholders—namely community activists, advocacy groups, religious organizations, and other non-governmental organizations that often represent a broader social movement. Despite recent suggestions that secondary stakeholder demands trigger an important two-sided interactive process between secondary stakeholders and their targeted firms, little theoretical or empirical attention has been placed on firm-sided factors that influence the dynamics and outcomes of these interactions, especially the role and influence of the firm’s top managers during these interactions. In this three-essay dissertation, I theorize about and examine the influential role that the firm’s top …

Statistical Models And Analysis Of Growth Processes In Biological Tissue, Jun Xia

Mathematics Dissertations

The mechanisms that control growth processes in biology tissues have attracted continuous research interest despite their complexity. With the emergence of big data experimental approaches there is an urgent need to develop statistical and computational models to fit the experimental data and that can be used to make predictions to guide future research. In this work we apply statistical methods on growth process of different biological tissues, focusing on development of neuron dendrites and tumor cells.

We first examine the neuron cell growth process, which has implications in neural tissue regenerations, by using a computational model with uniform branching probability …

The Influence Of Others' Goals On Young Children's Sharing Decisions, Melissa L. Glasser

Psychology Dissertations

Prosociality encompasses a variety of actions aimed at benefitting another person, (e.g., Brownell, 2013; Martin & Olson, 2015; Thompson & Newton, 2013). One category of prosocial behaviors is sharing, which uniquely requires relinquishing an object to alleviate another person’s need (Pettygrove, Hammond, Karahuta, Waugh, & Brownell, 2013). While past research has shown that children may have some innate predisposition towards prosociality (e.g., Killen & de Waal, 2000; Warneken & Tomasello, 2009b), there are also situational influences that may encourage such behaviors (e.g., Martin & Olson, 2015). The current three studies investigate preschoolers’ and early elementary school children’s ability to consider …

Examining Cognitive Predictors Of Parental Rescue Behavior And Potential Malleability Of Behavior Using A Psychoeducation Intervention, Sara M S Francis

Psychology Dissertations

Over-controlling parenting practices, particularly parents’ tendency to “rescue” children from experiencing distress, both limit children’s exposure to anxiety-provoking situations and restrict opportunities for development of adaptive coping skills (Barlow, 2002; Suveg et al., 2006). Research is just emerging regarding internal factors, such as maladaptive beliefs about child anxiety, that may lead parents to engage in rescue behavior. Additionally, much of this re cent work is limited by its exclusive use of informant-report methodology. A primary goal of the present study was therefore to examine associations between parent beliefs about child anxiety and rescue behavior using an experimental design. Parental rescue …

Effect Of Ketamine On Social Avoidance In Socially Defeated Male And Female Syrian Hamsters, Alejandro D. Guzman Bambaren

Biology Theses

Social stress can cause or exacerbate neuropsychiatric illnesses such as depression. Unfortunately, currently available treatments for these disorders are slow to take effect and are often ineffective. One promising novel treatment option is the anesthetic ketamine, which may have rapid-acting antidepressant effects in humans and rodents. These rodent studies, however, have primarily used artificial stressors to produce depression-like responses. Our lab uses an ethologically relevant rodent model of social stress in Syrian hamsters. We tested whether a single, intraperitoneal dose of ketamine reduces social avoidance, a common symptom of mental disorders, in male and female Syrian hamsters that have experienced …

Synthesis Of 2seu-Rnas And Rna Squares, Xinghua Chen

Chemistry Theses

In this paper, an improved method ^[1] for the chemical synthesis of ^2SeU-RNA was reported using a streamlined strategy employs 2'-O-Thiomopholine-4-carbothioate protecting group. And single step deprotection of the resulting oligoribonucleotide product using 1,2-diamines/toluene under anhydrous conditions would retain the Selenium atom introduced on the 2-possiton of the modified Uracil. The process is doable with most standard heterobase protection and deprotection, it greatly simplifies the synthesis of ^2SeU-RNAs and can be applied to other Selenium modified RNAs synthesis. It makes the synthesis of RNA become as simple and efficient as the chemical synthesis of DNA. Furthermore, the design …

An Investigation Of The Dna Interactions Of Polyamine Anthracene Conjugates Under High Ionic Conditions, Khoa Nguyen

Chemistry Theses

Six polyamine anthracene conjugates (Ants) were studied that take advantage of the polyamine transporter system (PTS) to target specific cancer. The structural features of the Ants involve planar aromatic anthracene that has highly cytotoxicity properties and a polyamine chain similar to natural polyamine, which is taken up by eukaryote cells expressing the PTS actively. Experimental data show that Ants with di-substituted polyamine chains have significantly higher DNA binding affinities than the mono-substituted anthracene conjugates. The high ionic conditions (~150 mM NaCl and 260 mM KCl) in the eukaryote cell nucleus extensively impair the apparent DNA binding of the Ants, but …

A Shift In Gender Representations And Narratives In Super Bowl Commercials, Ashley M. Rockwell

Sociology Theses

Despite the wide, diverse, and captive Super Bowl television audience, there are only a few studies—none longitudinal—that have examined gender representations in Super Bowl commercials. Scholars have demonstrated that advertisements influence our behaviors and attitudes and can reinforce and reflect dominant ideologies (Garst and Bodenhausen 1997; Kilbourne 1999; Smeesters and Mandel 2006). This study examines how the gender narratives and representations in 665 Super Bowl advertisements that aired between 2005 and 2016 changed over time. Based on this content analysis, gender representations and narratives of Super Bowl commercials shifted to become more egalitarian. While there was a general trajectory toward …

Seeking Direct Coastal Erosion Associated Factors In The United States Shorelines, Le Chen, Le Chen

Mathematics Theses

Sea-level rise is projected to have a wide range of effects on coastal environments, developments, and infrastructure. Based on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) system data, we developed a two-stage model; firstly, the Bayesian Network (BN) is used to define relationship among driving forces; secondly, the logistic regression is used to evaluate direct association for direct factors related to Shoreline Erosion. Using this two-stage approach, increased sea-level (OR: 4.03[3.72,4.38]), higher Wave Height (OR: 0.56[0.54,0.61]), smaller Tidal Range (OR: 1.68[1.52,1.87]) and smaller Coastal Slope (OR: 0.45[0.44,0.49]) are directly associated with Shoreline Erosion in Atlantic Ocean; Geomorphology setting …

Biodegradation Of Petroleum Hydrocarbons In Contaminated Coastal Environments, Nigeria, Samson Onibiyo

Geosciences Theses

ABSTRACT

To compare the degree of biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments from Ikarama and Okwori in the Niger delta, Nigeria, concentrations of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the sediments were measured. Analysis was conducted with gas chromatography using mass spectrometry detector. While the decrease in concentrations of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons confirmed the process of biodegradation in the sediments it was not solely fit to substantiate the degree of biodegradation in the sediments. Hence the percentage proportion of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was used. The degree of biodegradation of n-alkanes in both Okwori and Ikarama was …

The Effects Of Feedback Valence On Work Performance, Learning And Attitudes: Looking At Valence, Trend And Consistency Together, Dina Leheta

Managerial Sciences Dissertations

One important aspect of performance feedback that was found to have significant effects on work outcomes is feedback valence. However, the literature is inconclusive about which valence of feedback, positive or negative, is better for outcomes. To help solve this conundrum, this dissertation argues that it is important to look not just at the valence of external feedback but also the pattern of such feedback valence over time when studying the effects of feedback on important work outcomes.

Consequently, it identifies two main dimensions of feedback valence pattern in line with previous literature: trend (so whether valence is on average …

Uncovering Trahlyta: Examining Textual Manifestations Of Dahlonega's Cherokee Indian Princess, Allison Pine

English Theses

Despite playing a large role in the history of the Cherokee Removal, Dahlonega, Georgia has received relatively little academic attention. This study looks at the Native Southern heritage of Dahlonega through the example of Trahlyta, a Cherokee Indian Princess buried at the intersection of two highways marked by a pile of rocks and a Georgia Historical Marker. Trahlyta has appeared in the folklore and literature of Dahlonega for over a hundred years. She has been the subject of a short story, a play, a novel, blog posts, and songs. Although it seems likely that Trahlyta is a figure created by …

Defining The Inflammation Biomarkers Of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases And Colorectal Carcinomas, Jianxu Li

Mathematics Theses

Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) are the two common forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). They share similar clinical and demographic features as well as harbor key differences in tissue damage and prognosis. Previous studies indicated that they contributed to the increased rick to Colorectal cancer (CRC). However, whether UC and CD share inflammatory signatures still remains controversial. In addition, no inflammatory signatures have been reported on CRC. To answer these questions, a comprehensive study has been conducted on collected microarray datasets. Our analysis suggests that although CD and UC share common inflammatory pathways, they also present difference. …

Functional Morphology Of The Distal Forelimb And The Evolution Of Tool Use In Humans, Sarah Love

Anthropology Theses

Previous research on the biomechanics of tool use has focused heavily on traits correlated with locomotion, tool manufacturing, and habitual tool use. Features like the breadth of the metacarpals, relative length of the thumb, styloid process of the third metacarpal, and the breadth of the apical tufts are skeletal features associated with the use and development of stone tools. However, there are many traits of the distal forelimb that may also be correlated directly with the development and use of tools. The purpose of this research is to analyze morphological features of the hands and compare them to features of …

Dna Photo-Cleavage And Interactions By Quinoline Cyanine Dyes; Towards Improving Photodynamic Cancer Therapy, Tayebeh Fatemipouya

Chemistry Theses

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a cancer treatment method in which a photosensitizer, light of a particular wavelength, and also oxygen are used to destroy cancerous cells. Cancer cells absorb the photosensitizing agent which is injected into the body, and it is triggered to cause cell destruction upon absorption of light. This occurs because of the excitation of the photosensitizer produces reactive oxygen species that induce a cascade of cellular and molecular events in the body. Photosensitizing agents that can photo-cleave DNA at long wavelengths are highly demanded in PDT, because the long wavelengths of light can penetrate through tissue deeply …

Access To Care And Social/Community Characteristics And For People Diagnosed And Living With Hiv In California, 2014, William H. Wheeler

Public Health Dissertations

Advances in HIV care and treatment continue to prolong the lives of people diagnosed and living with HIV (PDLWH). The National HIV/AIDS Strategy mobilizes national, state, and local efforts toward ensuring equitable access to care, reducing disparities, and improving continuum of HIV care outcomes. A social/community-based factor that contributes to sub-optimal HIV outcomes for PDLWH – all of whom require regular visits to a medical facility – is access to accommodating, affordable, and acceptable HIV care providers. Employing case surveillance data to analyze relationships between social/community-based factors and HIV disease outcomes is an opportunity to identify underserved PDLWH. This analytic …

Exploring Hiv Integrase 3'-Processing Using Designed Dna Substrates And Structural Study Of Hiv Dna Hairpins, Qiushi Li

Chemistry Theses

In the HIV viral integration procedure, 3’-processing of the viral DNA by the integrase enzyme is an essential first step which is followed by the integration of viral DNA into the host genome. In 3’-processing, the integrase cleaves the backbone of the DNA substrate on the 3’ end of a conserved CA dinucleotide motif and inserts a helix between the two DNA strands, forcing them apart (Hare, S., 2012). Our study confirms that the presence of a G-amino group is crucial for 3’-processing. Substituting inosine for G in the CA step removes this amino group and results in loss of …

Identifying Mavens In Social Networks, Hussah Albinali

Computer Science Theses

This thesis studies social influence from the perspective of users' characteristics. The importance of users' characteristics in word-of-mouth applications has been emphasized in economics and marketing fields. We model a category of users called mavens where their unique characteristics nominate them to be the preferable seeds in viral marketing applications. In addition, we develop some methods to learn their characteristics based on a real dataset. We also illustrate the ways to maximize information flow through mavens in social networks. Our experiments show that our model can successfully detect mavens as well as fulfill significant roles in maximizing the information flow …