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Brd4 Is Required For Granule Cell Progenitor Proliferation, Marie E. Maloof
Brd4 Is Required For Granule Cell Progenitor Proliferation, Marie E. Maloof
Open Access Dissertations
Bromodomain and extraterminal domain proteins are epigenetic reader proteins that recognize and bind acetylated histones to facilitate gene transcription. Because of their influence on transcription of genes involved in proliferation and differentiation, small molecule bromodomain inhibitors have entered clinical trials for various indications including several types of cancer. However, our understanding of bromodomain protein function is incomplete, as we do not completely understand their role in vertebrate development. We are investigating the role of the BET protein, Brd4, in cerebellar granule cell progenitor proliferation and cell cycle exit. Dysregulation of cerebellar granule cell progenitor proliferation leads to medulloblastoma, the most …
Effects Of Temperature, Ultraviolet Radiation And Crude Oil Exposure On Early-Life Staged Mahi-Mahi (Coryphaena Hippurus), Christina Pasparakis
Effects Of Temperature, Ultraviolet Radiation And Crude Oil Exposure On Early-Life Staged Mahi-Mahi (Coryphaena Hippurus), Christina Pasparakis
Open Access Dissertations
The timing and location of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster within the Gulf of Mexico resulted in crude oil exposure of many commercially and ecologically important fish species, such as mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus), during their sensitive early life stages (ELS). Mahi produce positively buoyant and rapidly developing embryos. Therefore, ELS mahi may be directly exposed to the cardiotoxic tricyclic PAHs dominating the oil slicks in surface waters for a significant portion of their developmental period. Further, these embryos are transparent and are likely also exposed to simultaneous stressors occurring in surface waters, known to act synergistically in the presence …
How Parental Roles Affect The Development Of Caribbean College Students, Seanteé C. Campbell
How Parental Roles Affect The Development Of Caribbean College Students, Seanteé C. Campbell
Open Access Dissertations
The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how parental roles affect the development of Caribbean college students in the United States. Five student development theories informed the framework for this study: Chickering and Reisser’s Seven Vectors of Development, Phinney’s Model of Ethnic Identity Development, Baxter Magolda’s Theory of Self-Authorship, Diana Baumrind’s Prototypical Descriptions of Four Parenting Styles, and the theory of emerging adulthood. Data were collected using a one-on-one, semi-structured interview format designed to assess student perceptions of their development in college and their relationship with parents. Interviews were conducted via phone, FaceTime, AudioTime and Skype interviews. Thematic …
Structural Change: The Case Of China, Yiran Tan
Structural Change: The Case Of China, Yiran Tan
Open Access Dissertations
This paper studies a case of China in the perspective of structural change and industrial revolution. According to industrial revolution theory of Wen (2015), China is at the completion stage of its second industrial revolution and needs to finish agricultural mechanization. Comparing China’s economic structure and agricultural productivity to those of Japan and South Korea, this paper confirms that China has been through the first and second industrial revolution and is on the point of starting the mechanization of its agriculture. The main findings include (1) there exists a similar pattern of economic development in China, South Korea, and Japan. …
Identification And Characterization Of The Molecular Determinants Of The Anterior-Posterior Axis In The Sea Urchin Embryo, Lingyu Wang
Open Access Dissertations
How the embryonic body axis emerges from a seemingly symmetrical egg and is subsequently patterned during embryogenesis is one of the most fundamental questions in developmental biology. It is now clear that localized activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays a conserved role in primary body axis formation and/or endoderm/endomesoderm specification during embryo development of phylogenetically diverse animal species. In sea urchin embryos, recent experimental evidence has shown that Dishevelled (Dsh), a central hub protein in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, is asymmetrically enriched and differentially modified in a vegetal cortical domain (VCD) of the unfertilized egg. Experimental evidence has also shown …
Reflexivity: A First Demonstration, Melissa Jane Swisher
Reflexivity: A First Demonstration, Melissa Jane Swisher
Open Access Dissertations
Currently, the emergent relation of reflexivity after training a set of baseline relations has not been demonstrated with any animal—human or nonhuman. True reflexivity can only be demonstrated if no identity (i.e., physically matching stimulus) relations are trained. In six experiments, the emergence of reflexivity and its opposite, anti-reflexivity, were explored. Pigeons received concurrent successive matching training on two or three arbitrary tasks: AB hue-form and BC form-hue (and AC hue-hue) matching. Once they had acquired these tasks, they were tested for BB (form-form) reflexivity or BB’ (form-form) anti-reflexivity matching. Most (10 of 13) pigeons that received three arbitrary tasks …
Characterization Of Ptls-Like Phenotypes In A Conditional Rai1 Transgenic Mouse Model And Study Of Rai1 Molecular Function, Lei Cao
Open Access Dissertations
Structural variants are abundant in the genomes of phenotypically normal populations. However, some rare structural variants are found to be disease causing. Potocki–Lupski syndrome (PTLS) is a genomic disorder associated with an 3 Mb duplication in 17p11.2. Clinical features include leanness, intellectual disability, autistic features and developmental deficits. RAI1 gene dosage is associated with the PTLS phenotypes. To understand where and when Rai1 overexpression is detrimental, we generated a mouse that over-expresses Rai1 conditionally in forebrain neurons (I-Rai1). Phenotypic characterization of I-Rai1 mice showed leanness, hyperactivity, and impaired learning and memory ability compared with wild-type littermates. Rai1 overexpression is controlled …
Syndrome Specific And Non-Syndrome Specific Predictors Of Developmental Change In Higher Functioning Children With Autism, Kim E. Ono
Open Access Dissertations
There is a wide range of variability in symptoms and comorbid behaviors among individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Variability is seen both between individuals at a given point in time and in patterns of change within individuals over time. The goals of the current study were to examine (1) initial levels and rates of change in social reciprocity and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, and (2) the effects of initial temperament, verbal IQ, and symptom severity on mean initial levels and rates of change in social reciprocity and comorbid internalizing and externalizing behaviors. The sample consisted of higher functioning …
“Doing Business:” The Changing Shape Of Grass Roots Ngos In Haiti, Jessica Covell
“Doing Business:” The Changing Shape Of Grass Roots Ngos In Haiti, Jessica Covell
Open Access Dissertations
This study provides an in-depth look at a NGO in Haiti that is attempting to generate some of its own revenue as opposed to relying solely on donor support. This case may prove to be a watershed and represent a new paradigm in development. The creation of micro-businesses and support for the state show signs of creating a more long term, sustainable solution to sanitation needs in Haiti. While the success or failure of this venture falls outside the scope of this study, it identifies emerging trends that may support the venture. The study concludes that while there is a …
Seeds Of A New Economy? A Qualitative Investigation Of Diverse Economic Practices Within Community Supported Agriculture And Community Supported Enterprise, Ted White
Open Access Dissertations
Amidst widespread feelings that capitalism is a deeply problematic yet necessary approach to economy, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has emerged as both an alternative model for farming and as an increasingly visible and viable model for alternative economy. Using qualitative methods, this doctoral research explores and documents how CSA has become a productive space for economic innovation and practice that emphasizes interdependence, camaraderie and community well-being rather than hierarchical control and private gain. This study also examines how the many participants of CSA have built an identity for CSA--branding it via autonomous and collective efforts. This has resulted in CSA …
New Media And Ict For Social Change And Development In China, Song Shi
New Media And Ict For Social Change And Development In China, Song Shi
Open Access Dissertations
As the country with biggest Internet population, by December 2011, China had at least 513 million Internet users. As the biggest developing country in the world, in the past three decades China experienced rapid social change and enormous economic development. The impacts of new media and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) on social change and development in China have attracted increasing attention among scholar communities. This dissertation aims to study the new media and ICT for social change and development phenomena in China. It draws upon data from my fieldwork and participant observations in the past three years as well …
The Role Of Snai1 During Heart Development, Ge Tao
The Role Of Snai1 During Heart Development, Ge Tao
Open Access Dissertations
Congenital cardiovascular defects (CHD) are the most common causes of infant death from birth defects (Lloyd-Jones, Adams et al. 2010). In the United States, over 25,000 cases with myocardial defects such as hypoplastic left heart syndrome were recorded in 2001. Beyond this astonishing number, an estimated 3 million more people have bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) (Rosamond, Flegal et al. 2008). Despite the clinical significance, there is a lack of effective therapies for treating CHDs, with surgical intervention as the most common treatment. Thus understanding the normal development of these affected cardiac compartments may provide novel insights and therapeutic targets of …
Place And The Politics Of Knowledge In Rural Bolivia: A Postcoloniality Of Development, Ecology, And Well-Being, Karen Marie Lennon
Place And The Politics Of Knowledge In Rural Bolivia: A Postcoloniality Of Development, Ecology, And Well-Being, Karen Marie Lennon
Open Access Dissertations
This dissertation is a study of the dynamics of place and people in a rural municipality in southeastern Bolivia. A study of the dialectical relations between knowledge, ecology, and culture that are manifest through the daily life of the municipality, it is an ethnography that illuminates the multiple discourses of colonialism, nationalism, modernity and decolonization that overlay one another. The contradictions and tensions produced through these intersecting discourses represent major obstacles to the project of "decolonization" and the formation of viable and equitable "intercultural" relationships, as promoted by the indigenous leadership which is the governing party of the Bolivian state …
The Role Of Prompts As Focus On Form On Uptake, Brian Bates Boisvert
The Role Of Prompts As Focus On Form On Uptake, Brian Bates Boisvert
Open Access Dissertations
Students are human beings; they, like all of us, make mistakes. In the language classroom, these mistakes may be written, spoken, and even thought. How, if, when, under what conditions and to what degree these errors are treated is of current concern in research regarding language acquisition. In their meta-analysis of interactional feedback, Mackey and Goo (2007) report that the utilization of feedback is beneficial and find evidence that feedback within the context of a focus on form environment is also facilitative of acquisition, echoing Norris and Ortega's (2000) positive findings regarding focus on form research. Thus, the role of …
Youth And Economic Development: A Case Study Of Out-Of-School Time Programs For Low-Income Youth In New York State, Kristen Maeve Powlick
Youth And Economic Development: A Case Study Of Out-Of-School Time Programs For Low-Income Youth In New York State, Kristen Maeve Powlick
Open Access Dissertations
Children are conceptualized many ways by economists-- as sources of utility for their parents, investments, recipients of care, and public goods. Despite the understanding that children are also people, the economic literature is lacking in analysis of children as actors, making choices with consequences for economic development. Using a capability-driven approach and an emphasis on co-evolutionary processes of institutional and individual change, with mixed qualitative and quantitative methods, my dissertation analyzes the role of children in long-term economic development at the community level. I use a case study of community-based, out-of-school time (OST) programs for low-income youth funded through the …
The Role Of Sox9 In Heart Valve Development And Disease, Jacqueline D. Peacock
The Role Of Sox9 In Heart Valve Development And Disease, Jacqueline D. Peacock
Open Access Dissertations
Heart valve structures open and close during the cardiac cycle to provide unidirectional blood flow through the heart, critical for efficient cardiovascular function. Valve dysfunction results in either incomplete opening or incomplete closure of the valve. Both types of valve dysfunction decrease efficiency of blood flow, increasing the load on the myocardium and leading to secondary heart disease such as pathological hypertrophy and heart failure. There are currently no effective treatments to prevent or slow the progression of valve disease, and there are no pharmacological treatments for advanced valve disease. Although most valve disease is associated with aging, increasing evidence …
Why China Grew: Understanding The Financial Structure Of Late Development, Adam S. Hersh
Why China Grew: Understanding The Financial Structure Of Late Development, Adam S. Hersh
Open Access Dissertations
This dissertation explores how economic institutions governing finance and investment have con- tributed to growth in reform-era China. Economic and political reforms greatly transformed China's prior centrally-planned economy. Although reforms incorporated elements of market institutions and private enterprise, China's state institutions exercising extensive authority over a wide range of eco- nomic affairs critically and fundamentally played a central role in transforming this economy from one of the world's poorest to the world's second largest in the span of one generation. I explain the emergence of a unique configuration of institutions supportive of industrial policy implemented by largely autonomous local government …
The Effects Of Early Life History On Recruitment And Early Juvenile Survival Of A Coral Reef Fish In The Florida Keys, Tauna Leigh Rankin
The Effects Of Early Life History On Recruitment And Early Juvenile Survival Of A Coral Reef Fish In The Florida Keys, Tauna Leigh Rankin
Open Access Dissertations
Processes that influence the early life stages of fishes can significantly impact population dynamics, yet they continue to be poorly understood. This dissertation examined relationships between the environment, early life history traits (ELHTs), behavior, and post-settlement survival for a coral reef fish, Stegastes partitus, in the upper Florida Keys, to elucidate how they influence juvenile demography. Otolith analysis of settlers and recruits coupled with environmental data revealed that S. partitus surviving the early juvenile period settled at larger sizes and grew slower post-settlement. Water temperature also influenced the ranges of these and other ELHTs as well as the intensity and …
Piping Plover (Charadrius Melodius) Conservation On The Barrier Islands Of New York: Habitat Quality And Implications In A Changing Climate, Jennifer Ruth Seavey
Piping Plover (Charadrius Melodius) Conservation On The Barrier Islands Of New York: Habitat Quality And Implications In A Changing Climate, Jennifer Ruth Seavey
Open Access Dissertations
Habitat loss is the leading cause of species extinction. Protecting and managing habitat quality is vital to an organism's persistence, and essential to endangered species recovery. We conducted an investigation of habitat quality and potential impacts from climate change to piping plovers (Charadrius melodius) breeding on the barrier island ecosystem of New York, during 2003-2005. Our first step in this analysis was to examined the relationship between two common measures of habitat quality: density and productivity (Chapter 1). We used both central and limiting tendency data analysis to find that density significantly limited productivity across many spatial scales, especially broader …
Counter-Hegemonic Collective Action And The Politics Of Civil Society: The Case Of A Social Movement In Kerala, India, In The Context Of Neoliberal Globalization, Ajaykumar P. Panicker
Counter-Hegemonic Collective Action And The Politics Of Civil Society: The Case Of A Social Movement In Kerala, India, In The Context Of Neoliberal Globalization, Ajaykumar P. Panicker
Open Access Dissertations
Social movements in various parts of the world have been attempting to challenge the forces of neoliberal globalization and the social problems caused by this economic trend. Many such movements have been advancing the idea of global civil society in order to counter 'globalization from above'. Despite the efforts of these movements to democratize social relations, the domination of these powerful forces persist and result in further oppression of marginalized people. This study attempts to discover the reasons why these social movements and civil society, despite popular support, fail to challenge effectively the power of such social forces. In particular, …