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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Three Methodological Innovations In Race And Ethnicity Research, Jeffrey Napierala Jan 2018

Three Methodological Innovations In Race And Ethnicity Research, Jeffrey Napierala

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines topics related to racial and ethnic diversity through three essays. Each essay takes a new perspective on a current issue in the literature and utilizes a unique statistical methodology to address that issue. The first essay uses the Monte Carlo Simulation Method to develop a measure of segregation for the ACS and uses it to assess whether the ACS is useful for measuring segregation in places with different sizes. The second essay considers whether a relatively unexplored factor, genetics, is correlated with migration. This perspective broadens our understanding of why migration occurs and is perpetuated over time. …


The Role Of Igf-Ii In Memory Enhancement : Implications For Autism Spectrum Disorders, Amy S. Kohtz Jan 2014

The Role Of Igf-Ii In Memory Enhancement : Implications For Autism Spectrum Disorders, Amy S. Kohtz

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Cognitive and memory impairments significantly affect multiple domains in life and play major roles in disease. Identifying critical mechanisms and factors that mediate memory consolidation and enhancement may represent an important approach for increasing cognition in normal adults and preventing or treating cognitive impairments. The expression of the C/EBP- target gene insulin-like growth factor 2, (IGF-II) is required for memory consolidation; furthermore, IGF-II administration during memory consolidation produces memory enhancement, increased memory persistence and prevents forgetting. In this thesis, I investigated the therapeutic potential of IGF-II to promote memory consolidation when administered systemically. In addition, I investigated one particularly interesting …


The Role Of Landscape Variation In Shaping The Evolutionary Diversification Of Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes) In A Biodiversity Hotspot, Matthew William Mitchell Jan 2014

The Role Of Landscape Variation In Shaping The Evolutionary Diversification Of Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes) In A Biodiversity Hotspot, Matthew William Mitchell

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In this dissertation, I combine population genetic and demographic history analyses of autosomal, mitochondrial and Y-chromosome genetic markers with spatially explicit modeling techniques to study the biogeographic mechanisms responsible for shaping patterns of genetic diversity among chimpanzees in Cameroon and eastern Nigeria. I also describe a new software tool, TESS Ad-Mixer, that I developed early on in this study to help visualize the geographic distribution of demes recovered from population cluster analyses.


Proactive Procreation : Ethical Implications Of New Genetic Technologies For Parental Obligations To Future Offspring, L Syd M. Johnson Jan 2009

Proactive Procreation : Ethical Implications Of New Genetic Technologies For Parental Obligations To Future Offspring, L Syd M. Johnson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines the ethical implications of recent genetic innovations, particularly preimplantation genetic diagnosis, for the obligations and duties of parents to future children. I critique common but uncompelling objections to the use of genetic information, diagnosis, and technology to influence the characteristics of future offspring, and conclude that genetic selection and enhancement are not different in kind or degree from other means of selection, direction, and enhancement that parents engage in to shape the lives of their children. Procreation is morally risky -- it risks imposing substantial burdens on persons who would not otherwise have to bear those burdens, …