Digital Commons Network^™

Using An Online Learning Module In A Nursing Program To Improve Knowledge And Skills To Prevent Falls In The Community Dwelling Older Adult Population, Susan Kane Patton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nationally, 28.4% of older adults fall each year. Falls and resulting injury result in decreased mobility, functional impairment, loss of independence, and increased mortality. Utilization of evidence based protocols by providers to identify older adults at risk of falling is limited and rates of participation by older adults in prevention activities is low. Because of nursing’s increasing role in caring for older adults, development of fall prevention education for nursing students would result in increased awareness of the need for fall prevention in community dwelling older adults and increased access of older adults to falls risk assessment. There is a …

Geospatial Analysis Of Droughts, Rice And Wheat Production, And Agrarian Vulnerability: A District-Level Study Of The Self-Calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Index In India, Aaron Michael Shew

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Droughts have affected more people than any other natural disaster in the last century, causing billions in economic damages and millions of deaths. As the Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) have heated in the Indian Ocean, drought patterns across South Asia have changed; the Indian monsoon has become more volatile and less predictable. In this study, monthly self-calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Index (sc-PDSI) data for the time period between 1950 and 2009 were interpolated to India’s districts; then the data were analyzed for changes in frequency and severity. The data were further evaluated using Anselin’s Local Moran’s I Statistic to elicit …

A Study Exploring Elementary School Counselor’S Experience Of Self-Efficacy, Bonni Alice Behrend

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

School Counselors are vital to a healthy school system. However, due to the multifaceted nature of the work, the role of an elementary school counselor can be challenging to define. This increases the likelihood for role ambiguity in the workplace which can lead to a lowered sense of efficacy. Because not much research exists on the internalized process of efficacy with elementary school counselors, the purpose of this study was to explore how elementary school counselors manifest self-efficacy in the workplace. Findings suggest that the efficacy of the elementary school counselors interviewed was primarily based on the quality of the …

A Gnawing Problem: Does Rodent Incisor Microwear Record Diet Or Habitat?, Salvatore Samuel Caporale

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dental microwear has been shown to reflect food preferences and habitat in extant vertebrates, and its analysis has been applied to fossil assemblages to infer paleodiet and paleoenvironment. Such reconstructions are, of course, only as good as the extant baseline used to infer relationships between wear pattern and diet/habitat. This study tests, through dental microwear texture analysis, the potential of modern rodent lower incisors to reveal those relationships, and evaluates the extent to which effects of diet and habitat can be parsed from the signal. Microwear texture profiles were created for individual lower rodent incisors (n=430) using confocal profilometry and …

The Ccaat-Binding Factor Dependent Regulation Of The Oxidative Stress Response In Candida Albicans, Ananya Chakravarti

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The success of Candida albicans as an opportunistic human pathogen has been attributed to several factors, including the ability to survive in limiting iron environments and the ability to evade the respiratory burst of human macrophages and neutrophils. The goal of this research is to elucidate the role of the CCAAT-binding factor in the oxidative stress response of Candida albicans. Prior whole genome microarray studies performed in our lab compared the gene expression of a wild type Candida albicans strain versus a hap5Δ strain under iron-limiting growth conditions. Among the differentially regulated genes, CTA1, encoding catalase, had a four-fold higher …

Development Of A Biofilm Model For Evaluating Poultry Drinking Water Sanitation Procedures, Pramir Maharjan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Enclosed water system has created a minimal sanitation focus leading to biofilm issues which are a source of flock health challenges. A series of in vitro tests were conducted to evaluate biofilm growth on polyvinylchloride (PVC) surfaces when exposed to treated/untreated water sources (test water) that are typically supplied in commercial barns. PVC test coupons (15.16 cm2) were immersed in test water in beakers to grow biofilm. Test water supplies were characterized for microbial, mineral and pH content. Temperature of test water was set at 90 °F (32.2 ᵒC) on d1 and then dropping 1°F each day over 7-day period …

Effect Of Passive Heating On Males And Females With Elevated Arterial Stiffness, Forrest Blake Robinson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Context: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of mortality in the United States, accounting for about 1 in every 4 deaths annually. Studies have shown that passive heating does have some degree of effect on arterial stiffness, but not much is known about populations with higher stiffness. Objective: To examine the independent effect of core temperature increase during passive heating on arterial stiffness. Methods: Participants visited the lab three times; one familiarization and two experimental trials. The experimental trials consisted of subjects being passively heated in an environment of 40°C / 40% relative humidity (HEAT) or normal …

Genotoxicity Of Graphene In Escherichia Coli, Ananya Sharma

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rapid advances in nanotechnology necessitate assessment of the safety of nanomaterials in the resulting products and applications. One key nanomaterial attracting much interest in many areas of science and technology is graphene. Graphene is a one atom thick carbon allotrope arranged in a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice. In addition to being extremely thin, graphene has several extraordinary physical properties such as its exceptional mechanical strength, thermal stability, and high electrical conductivity. Graphene itself is relatively chemically inert and therefore pristine graphene must undergo a process called functionalization, which is combination of chemical and physical treatments that change the properties of graphene, …

The Effect Of The Expanded Food And Nutrition Education Program On Participants’ Diet Quality: Does Supermarket Access Matter?, Rachel Ann Spencer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project assesses the effectiveness of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) within the context of supermarket access. EFNEP is a national community nutrition education program that strives to give participants the tools to live healthier lives. Analysis was performed on participants from 16 Arkansas counties that completed EFNEP during 2013 or 2014. The program outcome is measured in terms of the change in Healthy Eating Index (HEI) as calculated from 24-hour diet recalls at program entry and exit. Supermarket locations were obtained from the USDA Food Nutrition Service’s SNAP Retail Locator and represent the food environment near …

Use Of A Blunt Version Of Meullenet-Owens Razor Shear To Analyze Meat Qualities Of Broilers With Woody Breast Myopathy And Reared To Various Ages, Famous Lue Yang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Broiler breast meat tenderness is an important meat quality attribute. There has been an increase in incidences of woody breast along with white striping as meat quality defects. These defects have been found to negatively impact meat qualities of broiler breast fillets. Woody breast can be classified by the degree of hardness into normal (NORM) and severe (SEV). The Meullenet-Owens Razor Shear (MORS) method was developed to assess broiler meat tenderness and a blunt version (BMORS) has been reported to be more sensitive at higher degrees of toughness. The present study was intended to determine the effect of age, debone …

Meat Quality And Sensory Analysis Of Broiler Breast Fillets With Woody Breast Muscle Myopathy, Jessica Solo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recently, the poultry industry has encountered an emerging muscle myopathy known as woody breast (WB), which is characterized by hardness throughout the Pectoralis major muscle. Two experiments were performed to assess sensory characteristics and acceptability of WB meat and to determine the effect of broiler age on meat quality factors in varying severities of WB. Fillets were categorized as normal (NORM), moderate (MOD), or severe (SEV) WB. In Experiment 1 (Exp. 1), descriptive (n=9 trained panelists) and consumer (n=74 panelists) sensory analysis was conducted with NORM and SEV fillets at hot and cold serving temperatures (HOTNORM, COLDNORM, HOTSEV, COLDSEV). In …

Toddlers And Technology: An Examination Of How The Digital Surround May Be Related To Prototypic Vocabulary Development And Social Interactions During Play, Hannah Biarnesen Hutcheson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to examine how the digital technology that surrounds young children may be related to prototypic vocabulary development and Social interactions during play. Twenty-six families in the Northwest Arkansas region with children between 15-36 months of age participated in the study. Thirteen children attended a campus preschool, six children attended a grant-funded local preschool, and seven children, all from the Northwest Arkansas area, were part of an earlier home-based study. The materials for the study included a developmental-technology use questionnaire and the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories. Archival videotaped play sessions with the seven home-based children utilized a “Little …

Identification Of Biomarkers For The Overall Survival Of Ovarian Cancer Patients, Kristi Mai

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rapid advance in sequencing technology has led to genome-wide analysis of genetic and epigenetic features simultaneously, making it possible to understand the biological mechanisms underlying cancer initiation and progression. However, how to identify important prognostic features poses a great challenge for both statistical modeling and computing. In this thesis, a network-based approach is applied to the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) ovarian cancer data to identify important genes related to the overall survival of ovarian cancer patients. In the first step, a stepwise correlation-based selector is used to reduce the dimensionality of TCGA data, by filtering out a large number of …

Spinach (Spinacia Oleracea L.) Seed Germination And Whole Plant Growth Response To Heat Stress And Association Mapping Of Bolting, Tallness And Erectness For Use In Spinach Breeding, Jessica Chitwood

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The effect of temperature on spinach seed germination was evaluated using a total of nine spinach genotypes and seven temperatures: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 32, and 35 oC in growth chambers. Genetic variation was observed. ‘Donkey’, ‘Marabu’, and ‘Raccoon’ showed higher seed germination percentage with over 70% at 30 and 32 oC, indicating the three spinach genotypes had heat-tolerance for germination. However, all spinach genotypes except ‘Ozarka II’ had lower germination percentages of less than 30% while ‘Ozarka II’ had 63% at 35 oC, indicating ‘Ozarka II’ may be a source of heat-tolerance for seed germination.

Seed germination may …

Assessment Of Microbial And Growth Response Of Broilers Fed A Commercial Prebiotic, Sang In Lee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prebiotic refers to nondigestible food ingredients that enhance the health of the host by selectively promoting one or more number of beneficial bacteria. Gibson and Roberfroid (1995) initially described prebiotics as compounds that neither hydrolyzed nor absorbed in upper part of the gastrointestinal tract, selectively stimulates growth of beneficial bacteria, enhance health of the host and able to amend microorganism population to healthier states. Prebiotics are particularly attractive supplements in animal production due to their variety of effects including production of short chain fatty acids, pH amendments and suppression of pathogen colonization. In addition, prebiotics were emphasized as antibiotic alternatives …

Gene Expression And Physiological Analysis To Study Differences Between Oryza Sativa Cultivars Susceptible And Resistant To Chalky Grain Formation Subjected To High Nighttime Temperatures., Nicholas Lawson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Starch composition and grain quality of rice is greatly influenced by genotype and environmental factors. The detrimental effects of high nighttime temperatures on rice yield and quality has recently become apparent, with some of the warmest average nighttime temperatures being recorded in the past few years. One of the most notable effects of this stress, an increase in grain chalk formation, correlates with a decrease in quality. This effect varies greatly between cultivars as some show less temperature-sensitive quality reduction than others. The goal of this research is to elucidate fundamental changes that occur in developing plants and grains as …

Deciphering The Role Of Glycine134 In The Human Acidic Growth Factor-1’S Binding To Heparin, Adam W. Burroughs

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

Human acidic fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF-1) is a potent modulator of cell survival and exhibits a universal role in various physiological processes. Though potent, FGF-1 unbound to heparin is known to show a poor thermal stability and a relatively short in vivo half-life. Much is known about the structure and relation of FGF-1 with heparin yet there is still unknown information regarding the exact role of heparin in stabilizing FGF-1. Thus, the aim of this study is to mutate glycine at position 134 to glutamic acid in wild type FGF1. G134 is located in the heparin binding pocket, thus …

Improving Photocatalytic Activity By Appending A Quinone To Ruthenium Polypyridyl Complex, Amy N. James

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

By converting natural light energy into chemical energy, chemists are studying ways to take advantage of clean energy. The rising precedence of “green chemistry” has led to academic interest in the activity of photocatalysts and harnessing visible light in an efficient, accessible, and safe manner. Photochemistry is an upcoming and fascinating field of study that has made significant progress, but also has great potential for future work. By utilizing light as a natural energy source, many reaction processes in chemistry can be viewed with a new perspective. Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ is one of the most widely used photocatalysts. An efficient …

Staphylococcal Nuclease And Ubiquitin Local Folding Energies And Rates Using Peps-Hdx-Esi-Ms, Julie Rhee

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this study, Protein Equilibrium Population Snapshot Hydrogen-Deuterium Exchange Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (PEPS-HDX-ESI-MS) was applied to study the local regions of model proteins, staphylococcal nuclease and ubiquitin. The hydrogen deuterium exchange (HDX) has become a key technique for studying the structural and dynamic aspects of proteins in solution. This technique creates a rapid exchange between all of the exchangeable hydrogen ions with deuterium when the protein is exposed to a solvent. The PEPS method is an equilibrium-based method used to determine the populations of the closed native and open denatured states of a protein. By combining the applications of …

Synthesis Of Microgel Polymers As Catalysts, Hannah N. Miller

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

New developments in organic synthesis show promise in achieving the best catalytic properties for the hydrolysis of glycosidic bonds through microgel polymers and transition metal complexes. A monomer mix of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, butyl acrylate, and styrene form miniemulsion polymers after sonication and exposure to UV light. Gravimetrical analysis is used to determine the most suitable polymerization conditions by performing experiments at varying pH values, temperatures, monomer amounts, initiator amounts, and lamp heights. The final data show that the best polymerization conditions are a pH of 10.50 at 0°C with a high monomer ratio, 20% initiator amount, and a lamp …

An Approach To Collect Non-Standard Microdialysis Compounds, Allison M. Schneider

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

Microdialysis is a sampling technique that is used to collect analytes through a semipermeable membrane. The collection occurs via the microdialysis probe where analytes can diffuse through the membrane and be collected by use of the outlet. Microdialysis is typically utilized with solutes that are hydrophilic and have a low molecular weight. It is unusual for hydrophobic solutes to be used, but pentane, a hydrophobic analyte, was studied in this research to see if non-standard microdialysis compounds can be collected. This is important because the pentane resembles hydrophobic signaling molecules in the brain, such as prostaglandins and leukotrienes and can …

Influence Of Cholesterol On Single Arginine-Containing Transmembrane Helical Peptides, Jordana K. Thibado

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

An essential component of animal cells, cholesterol exerts significant influence on the physical properties of the cell membrane and in turn, its constituents. One such category of constituents, the membrane proteins, are responsible for diverse and essential biological functions and often contain polar amino acids. Although sparse within the hydrophobic interior of lipid-bilayer membranes, polar amino acid residues are highly conserved and may play pivotal roles in determining specific structural and functional properties of key proteins. To gain greater understanding of the lipid membrane environment, and more broadly, cellular function, a model peptide framework termed “GWALP23” (acetyl-GGALWLALALAL¹²AL^{14 …}

Regulation Of The Reaction Between Cytochrome C And Cytochrome Oxidase, Jennifer Silva-Nash

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

Irreversible brain damage is commonly seen in patients that have suffered strokes, cardiac arrest, or other brain ischemia events. The hypoxic conditions result in neuron death, and previous studies have shown that additional damage occurs when blood flow is restored. It is thought that the lack of energy production during post-ischemia events also causes severe brain damage, as the brain heavily depends on oxidative phosphorylation. Cytochrome c (Cyt c) plays a crucial role in this energy production by means of the electron transport chain (ETC), transferring electrons between complexes ΙΙΙ (cytochrome bc1) and ΙV (cytochrome c oxidase, CcO). Mitochondrial …

Understanding Employees’ Reactions To Sexual Harassment Training: Interactional Disruptions, Identity Threats, And Negative Training Outcomes, Shannon L. Rawski

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sexual harassment training is a common organizational activity. Yet, we do not have very much knowledge about why sexual harassment training is effective or ineffective. There is evidence that employees often react negatively toward sexual harassment training, and these negative reactions may help explain inconsistent findings regarding whether sexual harassment training improves employees’ knowledge, attitudes, and transfer of training to the job context. This dissertation draws from Social interactionism and identity theory to suggest that employees may experience threats to their valued identities at the announcement of sexual harassment training and during the administration of sexual harassment training. Interactional characteristics, …

Development Of A Simple Handheld Biosensor For Waterborne Pathogens, Bryce C. Jones

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Current methods of detecting waterborne pathogens involve testing strips which take 24-48 hours to yield results, or require expensive equipment in order to function. In minimalist environments, these two technologies are not always applicable to test water quality. With the emergence of a new method of PCR, named LAMP PCR, it is possible to quickly and accurately detect pathogen DNA in a water sample. In order to scale this technique into a simple device, the aspects of the reaction must be accommodated, and a visual detection method chosen. A handheld device which keeps the isothermal LAMP PCR stable for the …

Wastewater Reuse, Zachary J. Bare

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Approximately 1.2 billion people around the world live in areas of physical water scarcity. This could increase to half of the world’s population by 2030 and could displace 24 to 700 million people unless steps are taken to ensure adequate water supply. Water scarcity is an escalating issue within the United States, specifically in Western inland states with arid climates. This scarcity is encouraging communities to investigate tertiary level municipal wastewater treatment, allowing for reuse of wastewater. Unfortunately, wastewater contains numerous contaminants that are not regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Many …

Investigating The Modulation Of Aggregating Amyloid Beta 40, Marlee J. Motes

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Amyloid beta protein has been linked to the formation of Alzheimer’s disease in patients.¹ Plaques form from amyloid beta fibrils. The formation of these plaques between neural connections in the brain are associated with Alzheimer’s disease.² The reduction of the formation of fibrils can be linked to utilizing protein mimics. The protocols that are used to reproduce the simulation of amyloid beta in the brain can be very important. Also, the structure of the protein mimic that is being used to inhibit the formation of fibrils can determine how the amyloid beta plaques are reduced.

The structure of sequence KLLFFLFFLLK …

Peptoid Morphology Studies And Its Performance In Inhibiting Islet Amyloid Polypeptide, Dongwon Park

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract 1

Proteins have various arrays of functions in human bodies. The bio-functions of proteins are depend on their amino acid sequences and folding processes that affect protein structure. While most of proteins fold in their own pathways, some of them misfold and aggregate due to mutations caused by various reasons. These aggregations are believed to be main causes of protein conformation disorders like Alzheimer's disease, Type II diabetes, Huntington's disease, and prion disease. An aggregated form of amyloid beta is considered as a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid beta develops from oligomer into a fibril as the aggregation process …

Assessing Toxicity Of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds In Wastewater For Water Reuse, Ryan Duchanois

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Reclaiming treated wastewater for potable water use may be necessary to supplement drinking water sources in water scarce regions. However, Snyder et al. (2003) indicates that endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are commonly found in wastewater effluents and natural waters around the world. These compounds with endocrine disrupting potential are typically found in personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides. Furthermore, according to Lemanik et al. (2007), typical wastewater treatment plants are not designed to remove EDCs.

For the purpose of water reuse, benchmarking wastewater treatment for endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) is necessary. The cytotoxicities of five EDCs (namely, amoxicillin, acetaminophen, triclosan, …

Risk Estimation Toward A Natural History Model For Low Grade Glioma Patients, Anh Thi Hoang Pham

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Glioma is a common type of primary brain tumor that represents 28% of all brain tumors and 80% of malignant tumors. According to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gliomas account for 53%, 35% and 29% of all brain tumors (68%, 74% and 81% of malignant brain tumors) among children (aged 0-14), teenagers (aged 15-19) and young adults, respectively. Gliomas are often diagnosed through radiological imaging and histopathology. There are two main groups of gliomas following World Health Organization’s classification: Low grade gliomas (LGG), or grade I and II gliomas; and high grade gliomas …