Digital Commons Network^™

Calcitriol And The Renin Angiotensin System, And Adipose Tissue Inflammation, Christina Marie Caserio

Masters Theses

Adipose tissue is well recognized as an endocrine organ and a source of proinflammatory molecules ¹. We recently demonstrated calcitriol stimulates adipocte reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and inflammatory stress (IS), while dietary calcium suppression of calcitriol exerted the opposite effect. These effects are mediated, in part, by calcitriol modulation of intracellular calcium (Ca²⁺) signaling and mitochondrial potential. However, adipocytes contain a functional RAS, and angiotensin II (ANGII) modulates ROS and IS. Accordingly, we investigated the role of ANGII in mediating calcitriol effects. Calcitriol (1 nM) stimulated NOX4 expression and ROS production in 3T3-L1 adipocytes by 67% …

Development Of A Novel Lysophosphatidic Acid Activity Probe To Identify And Characterize New Protein Targets, Leah M. Cuthriell

Masters Theses

Lipids are categorized according to their biological function. Phospholipids, glycolipids, and cholesterol are bulk membrane lipids that offer structure and support to the cells and organelle membranes. Signaling lipids include diacylglycerol, phosphatidic acid, and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). These are low abundance lipids that are active in various pathways. LPA acts through GPCR receptors to activate G or beta mediated stimulation of phospholipase C leading to phosphatidylinositol-(4,5)-bisphosphate hydrolysis, G_i mediated inhibition of adenyl cyclase, and G_i mediated stimulation of the mitogenic Ras- MAP kinase. To further elucidate the biological activity of LPA and potentially identify new LPA binding receptors, …

A Condition Assessment Process For Aerospace Ground Test Systems, Larry Michael Davis

Masters Theses

This research developed a process to identify condition deficiencies and sustainment requirements to assist in the development of strategic management plans for aerospace ground test systems that may be unique in design, operation, and/or maintenance.

Subject matter experts can use the process to evaluate the condition of a test asset by inputting data into the developed software system. The process was designed around the concept of evaluating the condition of a system against ten parameters that encompass all of the aspects of a system that would be considered in determining its overall condition. A scale of zero (failed) to ten …

Casein Micelles From Bovine Milk: Ethanol Induced Changes In Hydrophobicity And Interaction With Native Whey Proteins, Raymundo Trejo

Masters Theses

Caseins, in the form of micelles, are the most abundant milk protein. The nature of these micelles is still not fully understood and several models have been proposed. The first chapter discusses this topic, along with the importance of milk proteins to the food industry, and their allergenic properties.

In the second chapter the changes in the hydrophobicity of dissociated casein micelles are explored. As new applications for milk proteins are discovered, it becomes more important to understand their physicochemical properties when subjected to different treatments. It has been reported that casein micelles disassociate when heated in the presence of …

Through The Looking Glass: Der Spiegel’S Presentation Of America’S Image In The Iraq War, William Bradley Hinton

Masters Theses

Der Spiegel, the weekly German news magazine, offered extensive coverage of the beginnings of the Iraq War. The magazine blended historical fact and cinematic and historical comparisons to present its decidedly negative view of the conflict. The twofold purpose of this thesis is to illuminate the German attitudes towards the war and the American culture from which it sprang and to explore some of the comparisons and metaphors and the visuals used to communicate this viewpoint. The intent is to examine the gap between the abstract position the magazine expresses and the wider scope of meaning created by the …

Arrowmont At Loghaven: Craft And Art, Karen Bailey

Masters Theses

This thesis provides the theoretic framework along with the research into site, program and precedent to support a design proposal for Arrowmont at Loghaven. The goal was to show that spatial organization that both differentiates and unites opposites can be a catalyst for personal and cultural development. The methodology of Christian Norberg-Schulz’s structure of space was used to explore the dynamic tension that enlivens architecture at various levels. The thesis explores the hypothesis that relationships that are created by a process of integration, can bring balance, and therefore health, to the individual, the community and the culture. The final design …

Design And Synthesis Of Fret-Based Boronic Acid Receptors To Detect Carbohydrate Clustering And Development Of Diacylglycerol-Based Lipid Probesto Investigate Lipid-Protein Binding Interactions, Manpreet Kaur Cheema

Masters Theses

Carbohydrate–protein interactions play vital roles in various biochemical processes such as signal transduction and cell surface recognition events. The clustering of carbohydrates into dense domains such as lipid rafts regulates recognition by multivalent receptors (i.e. lectins). These regions are known to play important roles in biological processes such as cellular transduction and trafficking. In order to characterize the clustering of glycans on cell surfaces, detection of domains with high carbohydrate density is of great interest. In this thesis, we present the work based on a modular strategy to design and synthesize boronic acid-based carbohydrate receptors, which are termed as boronolectins …

Anti-Judaic Religious Polemic And Apocalyptic Thought In The Disputation Of Majorca And Its Later Manuscript Tradition, Geoffrey Kyle Martin

Masters Theses

In this study, I first examine the Disputation of Majorca (1286) and analyze how its Christian disputant, Inghetto Contardo, blended apocalyptic thought and anti-Judaic discourse. Although other studies, most notably Ora Limor’s critical edition, have touched upon the nature of Inghetto’s arguments, none have discussed his clear implementation of intertwined anti-Judaic religious polemic and apocalyptic thought in a satisfactory manner. I place Inghetto in an apocalyptic milieu of the later thirteenth century that especially emphasizes the imminence of the Last Days. In effect, Inghetto’s employment of St. Jerome’s Daniel exegesis is perfectly suited to 1286, when Jews are most likely …

A Program Evaluation Of Parenting Apart: Effective Co-Parenting, Melissa Ivy Rector

Masters Theses

A two-month longitudinal program evaluation was conducted of a four-hour mandated parent education program for divorcing parents of minor children. To expand on Brandon’s (2006) program evaluation of the same program, the present study sought to examine knowledge gain and behavior change in participants. Using a retrospective post-then-pre design, 139 participants reported their knowledge gain in two areas: (a) the impacts of divorce and of putting children in the middle of conflict, and (b) strategies to reduce conflict with one’s former spouse. Two-month follow-up interviews were used to assess behavior change in two areas: (a) using techniques to manage post-divorce …

Accelerated Ctis Using The Cell Processor, Thaddeus James Thompson

Masters Theses

The Computed Tomography Imaging Spectrometer (CTIS) is a device capable of simultaneously acquiring imagery from multiple bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. Due to the method of data collection from this system, a processing intensive reconstruction phase is required to resolve the image output. This paper evaluates a parallelized implementation of the Vose-Horton CTIS reconstruction algorithm using the Cell processor. In addition to demonstrating the feasibility of a mixed precision implementation, it is shown that use of the parallel processing capabilities of the Cell may provide a significant reduction in reconstruction time.

Novel Design Of A Portosystemic Shunt Occluder, Tommy Lee Washington

Masters Theses

In some breeds of dog, specifically the Yorkshire Terrier, a genetic defect exists that causes a hepatic portosystemic shunt to form. A hepatic portosystemic shunt is a vessel that when present cause blood to bypass the liver, which is responsible for filtering waste from the digestive system and moving it out of the body. An implantable polymeric device was constructed that would slowly occlude the hepatic portosystemic shunt and force the blood to stop flowing through the bypassing vessel and flow through the vessel to the liver over 3-4 months time.

The portosystemic shunt occluder device consist of three polyoxymethylene …

Baseline Survey And Habitat Analysis Of Aquatic Salamanders In The Pigeon River, North Carolina, Nikki J. Maxwell

Masters Theses

The Pigeon River was severely impacted beginning in the early 1900s by a paper mill located in Canton, North Carolina. The mill discharged chemical byproducts into the Pigeon River until 1992 when the paper mill modified their processes. As a result, water quality improved but the status of salamander species in the Pigeon River was unknown. Worldwide amphibian declines over the last 20 years have drawn attention to the need for more research and a better understanding of species-specific habitat relationships. There is concern about amphibian population declines because amphibians are critical to the balance of ecosystems and are considered …

Prehistoric Bone Grease Production In Wisconsin's Driftless Area: A Review Of The Evidence And Its Implications, Jonathan Douglas Baker

Masters Theses

The evidence for bone grease processing in Wisconsin's Driftless Area is addressed. A four-fold methodology for the identification of grease production is developed. This methodology includes an examination of: (1) bone fragment size, (2) fracture patterns, (3) overall taphonomy, and (4) archaeological context. The methodology is applied to the analysis of eight Driftless Area faunal assemblages and is also used to reevaluate previous accounts of grease production. Based upon the analysis, evidence for grease manufacture is present and ubiquitous at seven Archaic/Woodland sites. Evidence for grease production is also present in five Oneota assemblages from the La Crosse area.

Grease …

Investigating The Maintenance Of The Lyme Disease Pathogen, Borrelia Burgdorferi, And Its Vector, Ixodes Scapularis, In Tennessee, Michelle Erin Rosen

Masters Theses

Lyme disease (LD), caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and transmitted by blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis), is the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the United States. Lyme disease is endemic in northeastern states, whereas southern states report far fewer cases. This research evaluated the potential LD health risk to humans associated with blacklegged ticks in Tennessee.

I surveyed 1,018 hunter-harvested deer from 71 counties in fall 2007 and fall 2008. Of these, 160 (15.7%) from 35 counties were infested with I. scapularis — 30 of the counties were new distributional records for this species.

I also evaluated …

Structural Behavior Of A Pile Framed Tie Back Retaining Wall, Mieah Dee Turner

Masters Theses

The objective of this research study is to analyze the preliminary structural behavior of a pile framed tie back retaining wall concept created by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). Instrumentation is used to measure the forces and moments on the steel piles, loads on the anchors, and the pressure and displacement of the retained soil over time. Data collection for steel pile analysis consisted of the comparison of strain gage readings. Stress values were calculated from the readings and reduced down to an axial and bending force along the pile. Soil pressures that built up behind the wall were …

A Business Process Modeling Approach For Evaluating A Government Contract Closeout Process, Clayton Jerrett Capizzi

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the practice of Business Process Modeling (BPM) in the field of contracts management. Government defense contractors are heavily burdened by contracts which have ended, but have not been finalized and closed. In order to keep good relations with organizations regulating government contracts, contractors have been forced to devise a strategy to address contract closeouts. Through utilization of BPM practices, an organization is able to not only model the flow of their contract closeout process, but simulate the performance of their process under varying conditions so that goals and deadlines may be met. Data was collected about a …

A Study To Evaluate The Suitability Of A Centrifuge As A Dynamic Flight Simulator For F/A-18 Strike Fighter Mission Training, Richard Michael Masica

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the suitability of using an existing 25-ft radius centrifuge as a dynamic flight simulator for “full mission” F/A-18 strike fighter mission training with respect to the representativeness of pilot-perceived motion and acceleration cues.

The methodology employed in this study consisted of analyzing F/A-18 mission tasks, collecting pilot opinion surveys of important sensory cues needed in simulator training, and conducting an analysis of human pilot perceptual problems caused by centrifuge motion constraints.

This study identified a number of issues indicating that a centrifuge-based flight simulator shows limited potential for use in “full mission” …

Impact Of Larger Diameter Strands On Aashto/Pci Bulb-Tees, Jayaprakash Vadivelu

Masters Theses

This thesis consists of the analytical study and the experimental investigation of larger diameter strands in AASHTO Type I girders. The main purpose of this study was to verify that the 2 inch minimum spacing recommended by ACI 318-08 and AASHTO (2008) can be used for 0.7 inch diameter strands by comparing various effects in girders using 0.7 and 0.6 inch diameter strands. Based on the parametric analysis it was concluded that by using 0.7 inch strands there was a considerable saving in the material. For example, an AASHTO BT-72 with 0.6 inch strand could be replaced with AASHTO BT-54 …

Cooperation In The Commonwealth: Perceptions Of Partnership Initiatives Between Virginia's Academic Health Sciences Libraries And Select (Contiguous) Public Library Systems For The Provision Of Consumer Health Information Services, Jessica Lynn Waugh

Masters Theses

Increasing numbers of Americans are seeking information about health and medicine. The advent of the Internet has ushered in an explosion of resources, but no mediating device to help lay people discern between authoritative current data, opinion pieces or unsubstantiated anecdotes. The field of consumer health is ripe with programs and initiatives designed to address the issue of access and education, but those are often scattered, spottily coordinated, poorly advertised and, in some cases, needlessly duplicated. The formation of robust partnerships between two major entities attempting to provide consumer health information (public libraries and academic health sciences libraries) seems logical …

Survival Of Salmonella Strains In Ground Beef Containing Varying Fat Contents And Heated At Varying Calculated Lethalities, Christopher Jerome Williams

Masters Theses

Americans consume 28 lbs of ground beef annually. Beef can become contaminated with Salmonella during the initial slaughter process. Whole cuts of meat are ground into other products and the contamination spreads. This increases the risk of food borne illness for many Americans that consume ground beef products. The purpose of this study is to determine if adequate microbial destruction of Salmonella populations in ground beef of different fat levels can be achieved at temperatures that are lower than government guidelines.

Ground beef was inoculated with a four-strain mixture of Salmonella. Three fat levels of ground beef were used …

Ammianus And Constantius: The Portrayal Of A Tyrant In The Res Gestae, Sean Robert Williams

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate that the late Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus used his portrayal of the emperor Constantius II (r. 337-361) as a response to Christian polemic against the pagan emperor Julian (r. 361-363). It argues that, based on the similarities between Ammianus’ account of Constantius and some Christian polemical accounts of Julian, the Res Gestae should be seen as part of the broader discourse between Christians and pagans that began after the death of Valens at Adrianople in 378. By examining the narrative similarities Ammianus shares with several of his prominent Christian contemporaries—notably Gregory of …

Identification And Characterization Of Novel Cellulases From Dissosteira Carolina (Orthoptera: Acrididae) And Molecular Cloning And Expression Of An Endo-Beta-1,4-Glucanase From Tribolium Castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), Jonathan Duran Willis

Masters Theses

Cellulosic ethanol holds great potential as biofuel due to its sustainability and renewability, yet recalcitrance of cellulosic feedstocks prevents cost-efficient ethanol production. Enzymatic catalysis of lignocellulosic biomass has the greatest biotechnological potential for cost reductions to the production process. Even though numerous cellulolytic enzymes have been identified in bacteria, plant, and fungi, insects remain as a fairly unexplored prospecting resource. Many insects, either via endogenously or symbiotically derived enzymes, use cellulose as substrate for their energetic needs. Novel cellulases from insects may have the potential to be more efficient than alternative enzymes in the conversion of cellulose to fermentable sugars …

Wetting Behavior Of Polymer Melts With Refractory Coatings At High Temperature, Robin Woracek

Masters Theses

Within the scope of this thesis, an experimental system has been designed, developed and manufactured for the determination of the wetting behavior of liquids and polymer melts with solid surfaces (coated and uncoated) at high temperatures (> 200 ºC). The measurement system incorporates a modified Wilhelmy plate technique, using a precision weighing module, a vertical linear stage, custom developed application software using LabView with suitable hardware and a high temperature furnace with thermocouple feedback control. Experiments have been performed and are reported to evaluate the performance of the testing system, using liquids of known wetting properties. A suitable testing procedure …

Multiple Axisymmetric Solutions For Axially Traveling Waves In Solid Rocket Motors, Nadim Yaacoub Zgheib

Masters Theses

In this article, we consider the vorticoacoustic flowfield arising in a rightcylindrical porous chamber with uniform sidewall injection. Such configuration is often used to simulate the internal gaseous environment of a solid rocket motor (SRM). Assuming closed-closed acoustic conditions at both fore and aft ends of the domain, the introduction of small disturbances in the mean flow give rise to an axially traveling vortico-acoustically dominated wave structure that our study attempts to elucidate. Although this problem has been formulated before, it is reconsidered here in the context of WKB perturbation expansions in the reciprocal of the crossflow Reynolds number. This …

Architectural Sampling: The Integration And Manipulation Of Meaning, Jacob Stafford Thomas

Masters Theses

This thesis is an investigation into the appropriation and assimilation of meaning by examining the relationship between the technique and meaning of the musical sample and meaning and memory in architecture. As a previously recorded sound integrated into a new work, the sample has a dual identity as both detail and artifact. It is a detail of two or more wholes: an original condition and the new condition, and an artifact from the context of the work from which it was taken. In architectural design, each recognizable form and spatial arrangement is a sample from a prototype with its own …

The Effects Of Ultraviolet Radiation On Pigment Production, Growth, And Photochemical Efficiency In Allium Spp, Kristin Renee Abney

Masters Theses

In the 1970s, a push for research on the effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on food crops began. Since that time, multiple agricultural and horticultural crops have been studied with results showing that the morphological and physical reactions are species dependent. The purpose of these studies to determine how increasing UV radiation affects Allium fistulosum L. (scallion onions) and Allium tuberosum Rottl. (garlic chives), and how UV radiation affects 16 cultigens of A. fistulosum. The effects of UV radiation were determined by shoot height, fresh weight, carotenoid and chlorophyll pigment concentrations, and photochemical efficiency (F_v/F_m). …

Integral Formulation Of The Compressible Flowfield In Solid Rocket Motors, Michel Henry Akiki

Masters Theses

In this thesis, a semi-analytical formulation is provided for the rotational, steady, inviscid, compressible motion in a solid rocket motor that is modeled as a slender porous chamber. The analysis overcomes some of the deficiencies encountered in previous work on the subject. The method that we employ consists of reducing the problem’s mass, momentum, energy, ideal gas, and isentropic relations into a single integral equation that can be solved numerically. Furthermore, Saint-Robert’s power law is used to link the pressure to the sidewall mass injection rate. At the outset, results are presented for the axisymmetric and planar porous chambers and …

A 1700-Year History Of Fire And Vegetation In Pine Rocklands Of National Key Deer Refuge, Big Pine Key, Florida: Charcoal And Pollen Evidence From Key Deer Pond, Joshua Wright Albritton

Masters Theses

Key Deer Pond (24° 42' 29.50" N, 81° 22' 36.12" W; ca. 2 m elevation) is a small freshwater pond in a solution hole located within the pine rocklands of the National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key, Florida. Overlapping sediment core sections and a surface grab sample from Key Deer Pond were subjected to pollen, microscopic charcoal, and loss-on-ignition analyses to investigate late-Holocene climate, fire occurrence, and vegetation-fire relationships in pine rockland ecosystems. Macroscopic charcoal from the uppermost meter of the profile was studied to provide a more detailed history of local fire occurrence.

The results from the …

Effect Of Selenium On Glucosinolate And Isothiocyanate Concentrations In Arabidopsis Thaliana And Rapid-Cycling Brassica Oleracea, Thomas Casey Barickman

Masters Theses

Brassica vegetables play a unique nutritional and sensory role in human diets around the world. Their characteristic flavors come from the break down products of glucosinolate (GS) compounds, a large group of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) containing glucosides. Glucosinolates are hydrolyzed by myrosinase to isothiocyanates (ITCs) which are biologically active. Mounting evidence of this process is of scientific interest due to the potential for high consumption of Brassica vegetables containing several GSs and their respective hydrolysis products that are associated with cancer chemoprevention. Glucosinolates are sulfur-rich hydrophilic, nonvolatile plant secondary metabolites; and. over the past few decades, their importance …

A Study Of The Social And Political Implication Of Friedrich Schlegel’S ‘Comedy Of Freude’, Manjit Singh Bhatti

Masters Theses

Generally speaking, scholarship in the field of Germanistik has taken an interest in Friedrich Schlegel’s early publication, “Vom aesthetischen Werte der griechischen Komoedie” (1794), either because of its perceived influence on German Romantic Comedy [(Catholy 1982), (Kluge 1980), (Holl 1923), (Japp 1999)], or else because of its relevance as an example of Schlegel's still inchoate aesthetic philosophy [(Dierkes 1980), (Behrens 1984), (Schanze 1966), (Michel 1982), (Dannenberg 1993), (Mennemeier 1971)]. As a theory of comedy in its own right, Schlegel’s essay has garnered little attention, in part because of its supposed inapplicability to comedic praxis and at times utopian implications, in …