Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Immunotoxicological Study Of Depleted Uranium, Bin Wan

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine toxicity of depleted uranium (DU) to the immune system and the gene expression profile of DU-exposed immune cells including peritoneal macrophages, primary CD4⁺ T-cells and T Cell Hybridoma (TCH) PLP1 5B6. Flow cytometry analysis of annexin-V and Propidium Iodide (PI) binding revealed that DU causes death in those cells at various concentrations. The non-cytotoxic concentrations of DU determined in macrophages, primary CD4⁺ T-cells, and T cells hybridoma are 50µM, 100 µM, and 500 µM, respectively. Findings also revealed that DU-exposed macrophages are able to promote CD4⁺ T-cell proliferation in …

The Role Of History In The Diversification Of The Funnel-Web Spiders, Agelenopsis Aperta, And Its Congeners, Nadia Antoine Ayoub

Doctoral Dissertations

Identifying the influence of history on the diversity of life is an important goal of evolutionary biology, whether it is an historical event that is extrinsic to the organism such as past climate change or an intrinsic event such as a single switch in behavior. Phylogenetic trees offer an indirect record of the history of diversification in a group of organisms and can be used in conjunction with other information to deduce the multiple roles of history affecting a particular group. Intra- and inter-specific phylogenetic relationships in the spider genus Agelenopsis Geibel (Araneae: Agelenidae) were analyzed using sequence data from …

An Analysis Of The End-Of-Life Choices Of Elderly Patients And Their Healthcare Providers At A Community Hospital In Tennessee, Elizabeth Harder Dobbins

Doctoral Dissertations

The Patient Self-Determination Act of 1990 was expected to popularize the use of advance directives (living wills and durable powers of attorney for healthcare (DPOA-HC)). Since the law was passed, researchers have found that the use of the documents has not increased as expected and that the documents, when present, were not always respected by healthcare providers.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the end-of-life choices of elderly patients and their healthcare providers in a community hospital setting. The subjects of this study were 160 patients, aged 65 years and older, who died in a community hospital in …

Online Atmospherics: An Investigation Of Feeling And Internet Purchase Intention, Kelly Price Rankin

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the online atmospheric cues of color and music and their impact upon feeling, attitude and purchase intention of consumers in the online environment. The research design was experimental and used data from a questionnaire. A pilot test of the instrument was conducted. The final questionnaire contained 39 items and a demographic section. A total of 200 questionnaires were collected. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups. Each group of 50 participants was exposed to a specific set of online atmospheric elements. The results indicated that Hypotheses 1, 3 and 4 were rejected while Hypotheses 2 …

Group Differences In Safety Climate Among Workers In The Nuclear Decommissioning And Demolition Industry In The United States, Michael Everett Findley

Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated group differences in safety climate among workers in the nuclear decommissioning and demolition (D&D) industry in the United States. The study population representative of workers in a high reliability industry included employees and subcontractors who worked at one of 10 locations in the United States managed by a multi-national corporation performing nuclear D&D operations. Safety climate was measured with a self-reported questionnaire, the Health and Safety Executive’s Health and Safety Climate Survey Tool (CST). The voluntary and anonymous responses totaled 1,587 out of an available population of 3,296 for an overall response rate of 48.1 percent. Significant …

Ecology Of The Cerulean Warbler In The Cumberland Mountains Of East Tennessee, Charles Patrick Nicholson

Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this study was to describe the distribution, local breeding densities and population trends, breeding biology, and habitat selection of the Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea) in the Cumberland Mountains of Morgan, Campbell, Scott, and Anderson Counties, Tennessee. Point counts were conducted during three years at six study sites. The Cerulean Warbler was detected at 50% of the point counts and was the sixth most frequently encountered bird. Spot-map censuses were conducted on five plots at three study sites. Cerulean Warblers occurred on all census plots at an average density of 84.9 pairs/100 ha. Average density on …

Relationships Between Spatial Enviromental Variability And Black Bear Occurrence In The Continental United States Of America, Donald Alfonso Martorello

Doctoral Dissertations

The American black bear (Ursus americanus) historically occurred throughout the forested regions of the continental United States of America (USA), and was absent only in central Nevada and portions of southern California and Arizona. Today, black bears only occur in a fraction of their former range, particularly in the Southeast where bear populations are highly fragmented and isolated.

Past research efforts have investigated the habitat preferences of black bears in several regions of the continental USA, but these studies were either limited to relatively small geographic areas or focused on selection preferences of individual bears. As a result, there is …

Relationships Between Spatial Environmental Variability And Black Bear Occurrence In The Continental United States Of America, Donald Alfonso Martorello

Doctoral Dissertations

The American black bear ( Ursus americanus) historically occurred throughout the forested regions of the continental United States of America (USA), and was absent only in central Nevada and portions of southern California and Arizona. Today, black bears only occur in a fraction of their former range, particularly in the Southeast where bear populations are highly fragmented and isolated.

Past research efforts have investigated the habitat preferences of black bears in several regions of the continental USA, but these studies were either limited to relatively small geographic areas or focused on selection preferences of individual bears. As a result, there …