Digital Commons Network^™

The Antiplasmodial Activity Of Spermine Alkaloids Isolated From Albizia Gummifera, G. M. Rukunga, F. W. Muregi, F. M. Tolo, S. A. Omar, P. Mwitari, C. N. Muthaura, F. Omlin, W. Lwande, A. Hassanali, J. Githure, F. W. Iraqi, G. M. Mungai, W. Kraus, W. M. Kofi-Tsekpo

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

In the present study the methanolic extract of Albizia gummifera was fractionated into various fractions. These fractions were tested against choroquine sensitive (NF54) and resistant (ENT30) strains of Plasmodium falciparum. All other fractions apart from the alkaloidal fraction showed low activity with IC 50 above 3 μg/ml. The alkaloidal fraction exhibited strong activity against NF54 and ENT30 with IC 50 of 0.16 ± 0.05 and 0.99 ± 0.06 μg/ml, respectively. Five known spermine alkaloids were isolated from the alkaloidal fraction. These alkaloids exhibited activities against NF54 and ENT30 with IC 50 ranging from 0.09 ± 0.02 to 0.91 ± 0.10 …

Spatial Distribution Of Cocoon Nests And Egg Clusters Of The Silkmoth Anaphe Panda (Lepidoptera: Thaumetopoeidae) And Its Host Plant Bridelia Micrantha (Euphorbiaceae) In The Kakamega Forest Of Western Kenya, N. Mbahin, S. K. Raina, E. N. Kioko, J. M. Mueke

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

A study on the spatial distribution of the silkmoth Anaphe panda (Boisduval) cocoon nests, egg clusters and the host plant Bridelia micrantha (Hochst) Baill. was conducted in two different habitats of the Kakamega Forest of western Kenya: Ikuywa (indigenous forest) and Isecheno (mixed indigenous forest). The mean densities of cocoon nests, egg clusters and B. micrantha were significantly different in the two blocks and were not semi-randomly distributed in the two habitats. The host plants were underdispersed in the indigenous forest, whereas they were overdispersed in the mixed indigenous forest. The cocoon nests were overdispersed and the silkmoth egg clusters …

Collective Behavior In Chemical Systems, Aaron J. Steele

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Experiments and simulations of the photosensitive Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction are used to study collective behavior of simple interacting elements. Two different types of interacting elements are examined. In a network of excitable elements, interactions change the timing of activity of the individual elements. Interacting chemical wave segments form rotational modes or dynamically align due to their mutual interaction. In both cases, interactions result in emergent group behavior.

The Glossina Proteolytic Lectin (Gpl) Gene Is Expressed Only In Members Of Glossina Species, M. W. Burugu, B. N. Mbatia, E. O. Osir, E. U. Kenya, L. U. Abubakar

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Differentiation of bloodstream-form trypanosomes into procyclics in tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae) is a crucial step in the establishment of midgut infections. A number of factors have been implicated in the transformation process, including enzymes and lectins or lectin-like molecules. Recently, Glossina proteolytic lectin (Gpl) gene, which encodes a protein with both lectin and trypsin activities has been shown to stimulate transformation of bloodstream-form trypanosomes into procyclics in vitro. Using RT-PCR, we show that the induction of Gpl gene expression by blood meal occurs only in Glossina fuscipes fuscipes Newstead, Glossina austeni Newstead, Glossina pallidipes Austen, and not in the Anopheles …

Semi-Captive Rearing Of The African Wild Silkmoth Gonometa Postica (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) On An Indigenous And A Non-Indigenous Host Plant In Kenya, Boniface M. Ngoka, Esther N. Kioko, Suresh K. Raina, Jones M. Mueke, David M. Kimbu

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The life cycle of the African wild silkmoth Gonometa postica Walker was studied between September 2000 and September 2001 in the Uasin Gishu District of western Kenya with Acacia mearnsii de Wild and Acacia hockii de Wild as host plants. The initial population of G. postica was set up from healthy live pupae in cocoons collected from host plants in the study area. Oviposition was carried out in net sleeves and small plastic cages. Moth emergence and oviposition were bimodal, occurring between September and October 2000 and between March and April 2001, respectively. Larvae were reared in semi-captivity by using …

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, 11/27/2007, P 83-146, Unm Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, 1920 - 2013

No abstract provided.

An Address Delivered At Asbury Theological Seminary Florida Campus Chapel Service, (2007, Nov. 27), J. Ellsworth Kalas

ATS Chapel Services

No abstract provided.

Topscholar™ Revised Brochure, Cindy Troutman, Connie Foster

TopSCHOLAR® Presentations and Reports

A revised brochure that gives basic points, contacts, and guidelines for TopSCHOLAR™, the research and creative activity database of Western Kentucky University, launched May 1, 2007.

An Address Delivered At Asbury Theological Seminary Florida Campus Chapel Service, (2007, Nov. 15), J. Ellsworth Kalas

ATS Chapel Services

No abstract provided.

When Oppression Is The Pathogen: The Participatory Development Of Socially Just Mental Health Practice, Laura Smith, Debbie-Ann Chambers, Lucinda Bratini

Faculty and Staff Publications & Presentations

No abstract provided.

An Address Delivered At Asbury Theological Seminary Florida Campus Chapel Service, (2007, Nov. 13), Andrew Young

ATS Chapel Services

No abstract provided.

Ua35/11 Arête November 2007, Honors College

Arête: Honors College at WKU Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Reinventing The Self: Native American Women's Autobiographies, Kristin Lynn Rozzell

English Dissertations - Archive

Native American women's autobiographies are complex writings that stretch the very genre itself. As the genre of autobiography is reinvented by both early and contemporary texts, the nature of self expression through that genre is also reinvented. With Leslie Marmon Silko's inventive 1981 autobiography Storyteller as the guide post for what an autobiography can be, I examine other autobiographies by Native American women that come before and after this work, naming some works autobiographies for the first time. Naming a work an autobiography gives credence to the autobiographer's chosen means of writing her life. Native American women reveal who they …

Frantic Fathers And Misplaced Mothers: Hegemonic Patriarchal Reinforcement Of The Traditional Family In American Film, Teriann Gaston Blaisdell

English Dissertations - Archive

Movies play an integral part in the formation of cultural identity and therefore should be subject to critical examination. This study examines the roles of mothers and fathers in films by looking at several basic techniques used to reinforce patriarchy. The focus will be an examination of post-1990s Hollywood film with relevant background information coming from earlier Hollywood films. Films which ridicule fathers who try to take on traditional female roles are first examined. In these films it is necessary for a woman to come in and rescue the man by embracing the role she was "intended" for. Another popular …

Context-Aware Inference System To Capture Design Rationale From Legacy Mcad, Ganeshram Ramji Iyer

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

There exist numerous design rationale systems that convert captured information into structured design rationale while providing rationale representation and retrieval. These systems woefully neglect the design rationale that is present in legacy CAD such as 2D drawings and 3D models. The dissertation addresses the issues that arise when dealing with the capture, representation and retrieval of design rationale from the 2D legacy CAD data, specifically the non-form related data (e.g. text and symbols). A definition for design rationale in the CAD domain is presented which forms the basis of the proposed approach. The approach uses a unique context-aware inference system …

Assemblies Of Assemblies: Supramolecular Ordering Of Nanoscopic Ruthenium Polypyridyl Building Blocks, Kelly Lyle Wouters

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Biological systems have long since perfected the development of nanoengineering. Cellular structure and machinery is based, to a significant extent, on the formation of nanometer to micron-sized assemblies of proteins. These architectures start with unique primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structural complexity and can be constructed from a relatively simple set of building blocks. Using this strategy as inspiration, assemblies based on [Ru(phenanthroline)3]2+ building blocks have been synthesized forming polyruthenium species bridged by the tpphz (tetrapyrido[3,2-a:2’,3’-c:3’’,2’’-h:2’’’,3’’’-j]phenazine) and tatpp (9,11,20,22- tetraaza tetrapyrido[3,2-a:2’,3’-c:3’’,2’’-l:2’’’’,3’’’’-n]-pentacene) ligands. Importantly, these assemblies exhibit unique hierarchical structural components which arise directly from the chirality inherent in the octahedral …

Novel Phenomena In Encapsulating Hydrocarbon Gases, Anas W. Saleh

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses - Archive

The use of hydrophobic forces for entrapment of gases in water will be discussed. Natural hydrocarbons, haloalkanes, and anesthetic gases are hydrophobic in nature. In the course of this investigation water-soluble molecular capsules that possess hydrophobic interiors were synthesized. The encapsulation of hydrocarbon gases in water and in solid state was achieved and monitored by NMR spectroscopy. Our findings may lead to novel, capsule-based materials for gas separation and purification. The work presented in this thesis is divided into two sections. The first section discusses the synthesis of two water soluble hemicarcerands and their use as hosts in encapsulating hydrocarbon …

Characterization Of Rf Propagation In Metal Pipes For Passive Rfid Systems, Darmindra Danaraj Arumugam

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

In this paper we collect and extend the theory of radio frequency (RF) propagation as it relates to propagation within metal cylinders, or circular pipes. This work is motivated by a need to understand the operation of UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) systems when the tags are placed within the pipes. These circular pipes are shown to be similar to metal tube waveguides which are either hollow or filled with air. We derive the Bessel function that is used to identify the propagation constants, the different transverse electric and transverse magnetic modes, cut-off frequencies and the multi-mode attenuation. The cut-off …

Stories Of Success: Narrative Communication Themes And The Direct Selling Industry, Allen Frederick Victor

Communication Theses - Archive

Despite the growing scholarly attention given to various aspects of narrative communication, little research has been conducted to identify and document narrative themes used in the storytelling efforts of successful direct selling and network marketing consultants to build their businesses. Such was the focus of this study. This thesis utilized qualitative research, particularly the method of thematic analysis as developed by Owen (1984), to explore the theoretical perspective of Walter Fisher's Narrative Paradigm. For the purpose of this study, narrative is defined as a "sequential account of events, usually chronologically, whereby sequentiality indicates some kind of causality, and action-accounted for …

Optimism Associations With Well-Being Indicators Among Older People In The U.S., Danny Hudson Vandergriff

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

Introduction This study is an analysis of associations between optimism and other psychological well-being indicators among people over age 65 in the U.S. The analysis is based on a stratified random sample collected in 2001 (Wave 1) with a 2004 follow up (Wave 2). The original survey was restricted to African American and Caucasian respondents who were "Christian." The purpose of this study is to provide social workers a better understanding of the function of well-being, particularly optimism, among older people. Literature Review Literature comparing well-being indicators to optimism among older populations is very limited. There are a few studies …

An Examination Of Perception And Knowledge Concerning The Venezuelan Government Under The Leadership Of Hugo Chavez, Joshua Dean Prescott

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

This study examines the perception and knowledge of American undergraduate students regarding the Venezuelan Government under the leadership of President Hugo Chavez. A perception and knowledge survey covering various and relative aspects of the Chavez Administration in Venezuela was given to undergraduate students seeking a degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice. It is proposed that undergraduate students seeking Criminology and Criminal Justice degrees will compare with Americans overall in having low perceptions and knowledge of Venezuela, the President of Venezuela, Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias, the current Venezuelan Government and its role in the global community, thus supporting a lack of …

Attitudes Toward Illegal Immigration: What The Public Believes, What The Government Can Learn, Jason Ariel Daza

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

Illegal immigration is one of the most divisive domestic policy issues facing the United States and one could argue the absence of a solution may stem from a misunderstanding of how the public feels about illegal immigration. This survey explores the attitudes people have towards issues surrounding illegal immigration. The results indicate that attitudes towards illegal immigration vary according to demographics, but they also suggest there is more agreement over the issues than disagreement, regardless of demographics. Thus, with an increased knowledge of where people stand on the issues, and of the strength of their beliefs, legislators can be more …

Investigation Of Power System Blackouts And Reliability Improvement For Power Distribution Systems, Hui Zheng

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Modern power systems often consist of thousands of equipments, each of which may have an affect on the security of the system. The trend toward deregulation has forced utilities to operate their systems closer to security boundaries [1]. This has fueled the need of faster and more accurate methods of reliability and security assessment. Power system reliability is defined as the probability that the power system will perform the function of delivering electric power to customers adequately on a continuous basis and with an acceptable quality [2]. Power system security assessment deals with the system’s ability to continue to provide …

Wireless Devices For Medical Applications, Thermpon Ativanichayaphong

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The deployment of medical electronics in healthcare plays a significant role to overcome many problems in disease treatment and diagnosis. For advanced applications, wireless solutions are preferred. The wireless technologies offer a new dimension of therapy or diagnosis, when wires are often bulky, unsafe, uncomfortable or even impossible to be deployed in some circumstances. The wireless communication devices can be categorized into two groups, active and passive, depending on the power sources operating electronics. The active devices draw powers from a battery, while the others harvest powers from external or internal sources. In this work, two medical applications are studied …

Distinct Value Estimation By Sampling On Unstructured Peer To Peer Networks, Zubin Matthew Joseph

Computer Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

Peer-to-Peer networks have become very popular on the Internet, with millions of peers all over the world sharing large volumes of data. The sheer scale of these networks has made it difficult to gather statistics that could be used for building new features. This thesis presents a technique of obtaining estimations of the number of distinct values matching a query on the network. The method is then analyzed by considering simulation results that demonstrate its effectiveness and flexibility in supporting a variety of queries and applications.

Is Secession A Recipe For Political Instability?, Charu Gupta

Political Science Theses - Archive

In the last century, the world has seen the rise and fall of empires, two world wars, and the subsequent creation of new states. Very little attention has been paid to how well these seceded states fared at self-governance. This thesis proposes a theory to explain the behavior of the governments of seceded states and examines three variables to determine how politically stable seceded states may be. For a comprehensive study, cases that gained independence between 1900 and 2000 were chosen from around the world with eight cases used for qualitative analysis and twenty cases for quantitative analysis. There is …

Comparison Of Distributed Versus Lumped Hydrologic Simulation Models Using Stationary And Moving Storm Events Applied To Small Synthetic Rectangular Basins And An Actual Watershed Basin, Michael Jay Shultz

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this investigation is to compare simulations using several artificial rectangular basins and a real drainage basin for distributed and lumped hydrologic models via results obtained with the U.S. Geological Survey Modular Modeling System (MMS). Impervious watershed conditions were assumed for each simulation. A critical objective of this investigation is to assess the performance of a physically-simple lumped model compared to a more physically-complex distributed model for various storm events. Knowledge gained from this investigation may be applied to the practical problem of determining when either a distributed or lumped model may be expected to function well given …

Ancient Schwannoma Presenting As A Thoracic Mass, Muhammad Z Tahir, Saulat H. Fatimi, S. Ather Enam

Department of Surgery Docs

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Ancient schwannoma is a rare variant of schwannoma, histologically showing atypical features that may result in erroneous diagnosis of a malignant tumor. There are only few reported cases in literature.

CASE DESCRIPTION:

We report a case of a 34-year-old man who was found to have giant mediastinal tumor. He underwent thoracotomy to remove the mass, which was proven to be ancient schwannoma on histopathology.

CONCLUSIONS:

Clinical and radiological findings are important aids for further consideration of surgical removal of these potentially respectable tumors with good outcome.

Technology-Based Learning On At-Risk High School Students: An Evaluation Of The Martin Luther King Jr. Community Technology Center After-School Program, Makenzie Hawley Carpenter

Public Affairs Theses - Archive

Objective. High school students across North Texas are failing to meet the academic standards of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. In response, after-school programs have been implemented to support cognitive and communal development of these at-risk youth. Technology can play a role in after-school by expanding the boundaries of the traditional classroom. This study evaluates the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Technology Center (MLK CTC) After-School Program between August 2006 and July 2007. Methods. Evaluation outcomes are based on the MLK CTC program objectives. The evaluation looks also at educational gains within the program and employs a paired …

High Grade Control Of Linear Induction Motor Drives, Haidong Yu

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Linear induction machines (LIM) have been widely utilized in military, transportation, aerospace due to the impressive advantages such as simple configuration, easy maintenance and high acceleration/deceleration. However, the existence of trailing eddy current effect and magnetic asymmetry effect undermines the expected functionality of vector control even though LIM inherent similarities from its rotary counterpart. As a result, it has been a focal research area to either improve the performance of vector control for LIM or develop a new high grade control strategy. Therefore, the in-depth knowledge of electromagnetic behavior of LIM is necessary. From both finite element analysis (FEA) and …