Digital Commons Network^™

The Importance Of Maintaining A Heritage Language While Acquiring The Host Language, Anna L. Vallance

Honors College Theses

Few issues are as relevant to modern education as the topic of bilingual students. As the school-age population in the United States becomes increasingly diverse, teachers and other educational professionals need to know how they can best serve their English learners (students who speak a first language other than English). A common question that many educators grapple with is what role a student’s heritage language (native language) ought to play in the classroom. Specifically, how important is it that students maintain their heritage language? By critically reviewing the existing literature relating to the subject, this article strives to answer that …

Dynamics Of Anisotropic Gold Nanopartilces In Synthetic And Biopolymer Solutions, Sharmine Alam

Wayne State University Dissertations

Soft matter is a subfield of condensed matter physics including systems such as polymers, colloids, amphiphiles and liquid crystals. Understanding their interaction and dynamics is essential for many interdisciplinary fields of study as well as important for technological advancements. We used gold nanorods (AuNRs) to investigate the length-scale dependent dynamics in semidilute polymer solutions, their conjugation and interaction with a protein bovine serum albumin (BSA), and the effect of shape anisotropy on the dynamics within a crowded solution of spheres. Multiphoton fluctuation correlation spectroscopy (MP-FCS) technique was used to investigate the translation and rotational diffusion of AuNRs. For polymer solutions, …

Qualitatively Assessing The Expression Of Kynurenine Pathway Metabolic Enzymes In Human Glioma Tissue, Kaushik Varadarajan

Honors College Theses

Gliomas are the most common brain tumor and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common type of glioma observed in patients. Prognosis with late stage glioma and GBM is very poor even with recent advances in treatment. Along with treating the tumor, manners of bypassing the blood brain barrier and ensuring the tumor uptakes the treatment is necessary. Because the treatments can harm regular brain cells there is concern about the viability and toxic side effects of many treatments. With all of these challenges posed it is important to understand how glial tumors can be so recurring and difficult to …

The Effects Of Social Status On The Quality And Affordability Of Healthcare, Robert O. Burns

Honors College Theses

Access to healthcare is very important in today's society, as is the quality of said healthcare. The socioeconomic status (SES) of an individual is the most important factor when it comes to determining both the accessibility and quality of said care, and as such has been studied extensively. Across different countries, lower SES has been linked to the decreased affordability and success rates of medical treatments such as coronary heart disease medication or health risk prevention regimes. In many cases, low SES patients were found to be less likely to seek treatment than higher SES patients as the debt they …

No-Arbitrage Option Pricing And The Binomial Asset Pricing Model, Nicholas S. Hurley

Honors College Theses

Financial markets often employ the use of securities, which are defined to be any kind of tradable financial asset. Common types of securities include stocks and bonds. A particular type of security, known as a derivative security (or simply, a derivative), are financial instruments whose value is derived from another underlying security or asset (such as a stock). A common kind of derivative is an option, which is a contract that gives the holder the right but not the obligation to go through with the terms of said contract. An example of an option is the European Option, which we …

The Media, The Women And Stem Fields, Arooba Javed

Honors College Theses

This paper focuses on the urgent need to increase female representation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields and the media’s influence on society’s view of women in STEM fields. Historically, women have held stereotypically maternal roles and have had less access to employment opportunities in STEM fields. Today, we have a shortage of women in these types of careers. STEM fields offer high paying and intellectually rewarding careers. Women bring varied experiences to the table, and can offer a fresh perspective on the problems our scientists and engineers are attempting to solve. The media influences society’s view of …

Cancer Stem Cells In Recurrent And Drug-Resistant Lung Cancers, Raagini Suresh, Shadan Ali, Aamir Ahmad, Philip Philip, Fazlul Sarkar

Honors College Theses

With a 5-year survival rate of less than 20%, lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Considering the treatments currently in place, this statistic is frankly shocking. A possible explanation for the disconnect between sophisticated treatments and the survival rate can be found in the Cancer Stem Cell (CSC) hypothesis. The CSC hypothesis suggests the idea of a subpopulation of tumor cells with the abilities of self-renewal, cancer initiation, and further maintenance of tumors. Lung CSCs have been associated with resistance to radiation and chemotherapeutic treatments. CSCs have also been implicated in recurrent cancers; …

Unstable Ventilatory Control During Sleep After High Spinal Cord Injury: The Contribution Of Chemosensitivity And Hypoventilation, Amy Therese Bascom

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

UNSTABLE VENTILATORY CONTROL DURING SLEEP AFTER HIGH SPINAL CORD INJURY: THE CONTRIBUTION OF CHEMOSENSITIVITY AND HYPOVENTILATION

by

Amy T. Bascom

May 2015

Advisor: Dr. Harry G. Goshgarian

Major: Anatomy and Cell Biology

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

A high prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) after spinal cord injury (SCI) has been reported in the literature; however, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. My studies had 2 aims: 1) to determine the effect of the withdrawal of the wakefulness drive to breathe on the degree of hypoventilation in SCI patients and able-bodied controls and 2) to determine the response of …

Analyzing The Interactions Of Kdm5/Lid And Sin3 In Drosophila Melanogaster, Ambikai Gajan

Wayne State University Dissertations

SIN3, the scaffold protein of a histone modifying complex is conserved from yeast to mammals. Drosophila SIN3 associates with both a histone deactylase RPD3 and a histone demethylase dKDM5/LID. Immunopurification of dKDM5/LID verifies a previously observed interaction with SIN3 and RPD3. Furthermore, deficiency of dKDM5/LID phenocopies deficiency of SIN3 in many cellular and developmental processes. Knockdown of both Sin3A and lid hinder cell proliferation in Drosophila cultured cells and developing flies. Knockdown of these genes also results in a curved wing phenotype implicating a role in wing development. Analysis of underlying gene expression changes upon decreased expression of SIN3, dKDM5/LID …

Sex, Labor, And The American Way: Detroit Aesthetic In Mid-Twentieth-Century Literature, Jenna F. Gerds

Wayne State University Dissertations

The essay analyzes Sinclair Lewis short fiction in If I Were Boss, U.S.A. by John Dos Passos, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee and Walker Evans, and Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby, Jr. The primary literature is juxtaposed with a study of visual texts and historic research with a locational and thematic basis in Detroit. Ford Times and early automobile advertisements, Diego Rivera's mural Detroit Industry, photographs of the Sojourner Truth housing project riots, and the accounts of gay union workers comprise a framework for each of the central texts. Detroit aesthetic is gritty, realist, …

Rheology Of Cross-Linked Polymers And Polymer Foams: Theory And Experimental Results, John Herman

Wayne State University Dissertations

Typical polymers have a time-dependent response to loading which results in stress relaxation or creep. Models using springs/dashpots or Volterra integrals are capable of predicting the material response, but place little or no emphasis on the reasoning behind the response. This research proposes a microscopic reasoning behind polymer chain movement, while developing a model to predict the creep and stress relaxation of a polymer foam. Based on the theorized slip/stick of polymer chains as they slide past each other, this model successfully predicts the behavior of a PMI polymer foam under tensile loads. This model lends insights into polymer microscopic …

Construct Validation Of A Learning & Talent Development Strategic Alignment Scale, Karen Hicks

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of a Learning & Talent Development (LTD) function in organizations is to develop workforce capabilities to execute strategic priorities. A strategically aligned LTD function is perceived as a business partner and as an asset to the business.

The study design followed a psychometrically validated scale development process with the goal of confirming a valid and reliable measure of strategic alignment in LTD functions. Three studies were performed to (1) generate and test the initial pool of items, (2) explore the factor structure, and (3) confirm the factor structure. The results of three studies produced a two-factor, 15-item factor …

A Multiple Case Exploration Of Designers And Reflection In The Design Space, Tamme L. Quinn Grzebyk

Wayne State University Dissertations

For decades, scholars have searched for ways to more effectively teach and practice instructional design. A variety of strategies have been employed to address the ambiguity in and challenges of the field. Much of the focus in the education of instructional designers has been on teaching students how best to use the many models developed for the field (Rowling, 1992). These efforts, while meant to help the new instructional designer succeed, have often been stifled by the ever-changing landscape of what instructional designers are asked to do in their roles after graduation (Kenny, Zhang, Schwier, & Campbell, 2005). Other research …

Spillover Effects Of Medicare Advantage Plans: Does The Market Penetration Of Plans Affect Hospital Care Quality?, Qianwei Shen

Wayne State University Dissertations

The percentage of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans increased from 12 percent in 2003 to 28 percent in 2013 out of the about 50 million Medicare enrollees. Although Medicare beneficiaries are increasingly choosing MA plans, little is known about whether and how the market penetration of these plans affect the quality of hospital care provided to Medicare beneficiaries. This issue is extremely important to policy makers when they try to evaluate the importance and effectiveness of current Medicare policy, like Obama Care. This paper is designed to examine the spillover effect on the quality of hospital care …

Preclinical Evaluation Of Infrared Light Therapy In A Rat Model Of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy, Christian Andrew Reynolds

Wayne State University Dissertations

Hypoxic events encountered during the perinatal period leading to pathologic decreases in fetal cerebral oxygen availability are detrimental resulting in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). This work focused on the characterization of a rat model of neonatal HIE for use in the preclinical evaluation of infrared light therapy (IRL). Consistent with results from previous IRL efficacy studies using a rat model of adult global brain ischemia, IRL treatment attenuated cerebral injury resulting from hypoxia-ischemia in the neonatal rat. Thus, and perhaps most importantly, this work contributes to the development of a potential novel therapeutic approach in the management of brain injuries …

Do Learning Communities Matter?: An Examination Of The Retention Of At-Risk African American Students At An Urban, Commuter, Research University, Cheryl Deon White

Wayne State University Dissertations

The effectiveness of learning community participation on the retention of at-risk, African American students at a public, urban, primarily commuter, research institution was the focus of this research. A nonexperimental, retrospective, descriptive, cohort research design was used with a sample of 318 first time in any college (FTIAC) African American students enrolled in the Alternative Admission Division (AAD) of Metropolitan Urban University (MUU) starting in the fall 2006 semester. The primary research hypothesis was that African American students who were admitted into the AAD at MUU in the fall 2006 semester would have greater academic outcomes (e.g. grade point average …

Role Of Crebh In Endotoxin Mediated Modulation Of Hepatic Metabolism, Aditya Prakash Dandekar

Wayne State University Dissertations

Bacterial endotoxins can induce a variety of physiological changes in the host. This effect is not only restricted to inflammatory changes but also comprises metabolic changes in the host body. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), one of the key components of the bacterial cell walls, is capable of triggering host metabolic changes. Hyperlipidemia usually accompanies with high endotoxin levels as well as inflammation. Lipid metabolism disorders are one of the common hallmarks of a patient with sepsis or high levels of endotoxin through diet. Previously, we have identified an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) anchored liver-specific transcription factor CREBH (cAMP-responsive element-binding protein, hepatocyte-specific), which is …

Communication And Identity: The Paternity Leave Decision, Scott Sellnow-Richmond

Wayne State University Dissertations

Paternity leave has remained an under-studied phenomenon in the United States. The US stands in contrast to countries such as Sweden and Norway, which have a history of government-regulated paid time off for fathers of new children. Therefore new fathers in the US face a unique situation regarding their decision of whether or not to take whatever form of paternity leave may be available to them. This study explores what aspects of new fathers’ identities are salient regarding the paternity leave decision. The Communication Theory of Identity (CTI) is used as a theoretical framework to explore how these identities correspond …

Affirming Expectations: African American Men's Perceptions Of Trust In Physicians, Rondrell Tayvan Taylor

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

AFFIRMING EXPECTATIONS:

AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN’S PERCEPTIONS OF TRUST IN PHYSICIANS

by

RONDRELL TAYVAN TAYLOR

August 2015

Advisor: Dr. R. Khari Brown

Major: Sociology (Medical)

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Trust is the foundation of the doctor-patient relationship. It promotes healing and medical efficacy. Patient trust in physicians exists when doctors act in their patients’ best interests. Moreover, trust literature demonstrates that historically (and contemporarily), African Americans are less likely than Whites to trust clinicians and the medical community due to the history of discrimination, clinical racism, unethical medical practices, implicit or unconscious racial biases, and exploitation by the health care …

Event Centrality After Trauma: Stability, Trauma Type, And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Anna Michelle Wright

Wayne State University Dissertations

In order to better understand posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and PTSD’s etiology, researchers have begun examining whether PTSD symptoms are related to the centrality of the traumatic event (i.e., whether the trauma is central to the individual’s life story and changes the way he or she views the world). The current study examines the following questions: (1) Is event centrality stable over time? (2) What is the effect of cumulative trauma on event centrality? Additionally, do different types of trauma have different associations with event centrality? and (3) Given its relationship with PTSD, should event centrality be considered a …

Functional Analysis Of A Highly Conserved Cyclin, Cyclin Y, In Drosophila Melanogaster, Nermin Gerges

Wayne State University Dissertations

Cyclin Y is a highly conserved member of the Cyclin superfamily of proteins. In Drosophila the Cyclin Y gene (CycY) is required for progression through several stages of development but the specific pathways that Cyclin Y belongs to and that account for its requirement are not known. Studies in human and Drosophila cell lines have shown that membrane-localized Cyclin Y is required for phosphorylation of the wingless/Wnt co-receptor, arrow/LRP6, and for full activation of the canonical wingless/Wnt pathway. CycY null Drosophila, however, do not phenocopy loss-of-function mutations in canonical wingless pathway genes, suggesting that Cyclin Y may have additional roles …

Adipocyte-Induced Inflammation In Prostate Tumor Progression In Bone: Role Of Cxcr2 And Osteopontin, Aimalie Lynnette Hardaway

Wayne State University Dissertations

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men. Evidence suggests that age and obesity, conditions associated with adipocyte accumulation in the bone marrow, are linked to increased risk of developing PCa and progressing to metastatic disease. Studies presented in this dissertation were based on the hypothesis that metastatic progression in bone is a result of a cooperative effort between bone marrow adipocytes, macrophages, osteoclasts, and PCa cells. We specifically focused on two adipocyte-supplied chemokines, CXCL1 and CXCL2, and bone marrow macrophage-secreted osteopontin as key drivers of pro-inflammatory environment in the bone marrow and important …

A Control-Theoretic Design And Analysis Framework For Resilient Hard Real-Time Systems, Pradeep Mahendra Hettiarachchi

Wayne State University Dissertations

We introduce a new design metric called system-resiliency which characterizes the maximum unpredictable

external stresses that any hard-real-time performance mode can withstand. Our proposed systemresiliency

framework addresses resiliency determination for real-time systems with physical and hardware

limitations. Furthermore, our framework advises the system designer about the feasible trade-offs between

external system resources for the system operating modes on a real-time system that operates in a

multi-parametric resiliency environment.

Modern multi-modal real-time systems degrade the system’s operational modes as a response to unpredictable

external stimuli. During these mode transitions, real-time systems should demonstrate a reliable

and graceful degradation of service. Many …

Resource Management In Cloud And Big Data Systems, Lena Mashayekhy

Wayne State University Dissertations

Cloud computing is a paradigm shift in computing, where services are offered and acquired on demand in a cost-effective way. These services are often virtualized, and they can handle the computing needs of big data analytics. The ever-growing demand for cloud services arises in many areas including healthcare, transportation, energy systems, and manufacturing. However, cloud resources such as computing power, storage, energy, dollars for infrastructure, and dollars for operations, are limited. Effective use of the existing resources raises several fundamental challenges that place the cloud resource management at the heart of the cloud providers' decision-making process. One of these challenges …

Development Of New Algorithms For Exploring The Potential Energy Landscape Of Chemical Reactions, Adam Benjamin Birkholz

Wayne State University Dissertations

The research presented in this dissertation is divided into 5 chapters. In Chapter 2, a method for reducing the number of coordinates required to accurately reproduce a known chemical reaction pathway by applying principal component analysis to a number of geometries along the pathway (expressed in either Cartesian coordinates or redundant internal coordinates) is described and applied to 9 example reactions. Chapter 3 introduces new methods for estimating the structure of and optimizing transition states by utilizing information about the atomic bonding in the reactants and products. These methods are then benchmarked against a standard transition state optimization approach utilizing …

Towards A Unified Model Of Sperm Chromatin Structure, Graham Johnson

Wayne State University Dissertations

Sperm possess several layers of information that are delivered to the oocyte alongside the paternal DNA. Examples of potential sperm borne molecular cues of probable use to the embryo include RNAs and local and global chromatin structure. To identify candidate sperm RNAs that likely reach the oocyte cytoplasm following fertilization patterns of transcript compartmentalization in the mature gamete were identified. Though all sperm RNAs exhibited a preferential peripheral enrichment, a subset of RNAs were identified in which this trend was reduced. These RNAs are thought to be embedded with perinuclear theca and are correlated with late spermatogenic transcription. Malat1, a …

Specialized Inter-Particle Interaction Lbm For Patterned Superhydrophobic Surfaces, Amal Saeed Yagub

Wayne State University Dissertations

SPECIALIZED INTER-PARTICLE INTERACTION LBM FOR PATTERNED SUPERHYDROPHOBIC SURFACES

by

AMAL S. YAGUB

ABSTRACT:

Superhydrophobic surface characteristics are important in many industrial applications, ranging from the textile to the military. It was observed that surfaces fabricated with nano/micro roughness can manipulate the droplet contact angle, thus providing an opportunity to control the droplet wetting characteristics. The Shan and Chen (SC) lattice Boltzmann model (LBM) is a good numerical tool, which holds strong potentials to qualify for simulating droplets wettability. This is due to its realistic nature of droplet contact angle (CA) prediction on flat smooth surfaces. But SC-LBM was not able …

Interaction Forces And Reaction Kinetics Of Ligand-Cell Receptor Systems Using Atomic Force Microscopy, Anwesha Sarkar

Wayne State University Dissertations

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) provides superior imaging resolution and the ability to measure forces at the nanoscale. It is an important tool for studying a wide range of bio-molecular samples from proteins, DNA to living cells. We developed AFM measurement procedures to measure protein interactions on live cells at the single molecular level. These measurements can be interpreted by using proper statistical approaches and can yield important parameters about ligand-receptor interactions on live cells. However, the standard theory for analyzing rupture force data does not fit the experimental rupture force histograms. Most of the experimental measurements of rupture force data …

The Role Of E3 Ligase Parkin In Trafficking Of Monoamine Storage Vesicles In Rat Model Of Methamphetamine Neurotoxicity, Heli Dineshchandra Chauhan

Wayne State University Theses

Methamphetamine (METH), a psychostimulant, is a widely used drug of abuse. METH is toxic to dopaminergic (DAergic) and serotonergic (5-HT) nerve terminals in the striatum when administered at high doses. METH releases Dopamine (DA) from vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) containing synaptic vesicles and induces oxidative stress by auto-oxidation of DA. The VMAT2 plays a neurprotective role by sequestering cytoplasmic DA into vesicles for storage and protection from auto-oxidation. It has previously been shown that METH toxicity is associated with impaired VMAT2 trafficking and oxidative damage to the E3 ligase parkin. CDCrel1, a protein found to inhibit exocytosis, is regulated …

Novel Protein Phosphatase 2a Complexes In Skeletal Muscle From Obese Insulin Resistant Human Participants, Divyasri Damacharla

Wayne State University Theses

Type 2 Diabetes is a metabolic disorder associated with insulin resistance and consequent high blood glucose levels. Maximum glucose disposal takes place in skeletal muscle and studying skeletal muscle insulin resistance is crucial. Protein Phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is one of the major serine/threonine phosphatases belonging to PhosphoProteinPhosphatase (PPP) family. It constitutes about 80% of all serine/threonine phosphatases. It is regulated by numerous regulatory subunits as well as other substrate molecules and post translational modifications. This alters their localization, activity and also its target molecules. Many evidences show the effect of insulin on PP2Ac and its abnormal regulation in conditions of …