Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Fibronectin Binding In Borrelia Burgdorferi Pathogenesis, Brooke, Lentz

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Lexical And Phonological Influences On Picture Naming In Adults, Brianna Jallo

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Worming Our Way To A Potential Arthritis Therapeutic, Isaac Jensen

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

The Ups And Downs Of A Rather Agitated Life : (An Exploration Of M. Gonne), Mary O'Leary

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Secreted Sparc In Malignant Breast Cancer Cell Lines, Kirsten Mccullough

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Judgment Of Fearful Faces, Anthony Garnett

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Cryptic Speciation In The Outback : Molecular And Morphological Differentiation Of A New Species Of Aptorchis (Digenea, Plagiorchiidae) From Australian Turtles, Zachary Selzler

Undergraduate Theses and Senior Projects

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Impact And Benefits Of A Health Education Program At Turtle Mountain, Shane Michael Martin

Theses and Dissertations

The Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribal members in North Dakota have long suffered from severe poverty and accompanying social stresses that threaten the social fabric of the community. Ninety percent of students attending college from the Turtle Mountain Reservation qualify for educational assistance based on financial need (Northwest Area Foundation, 2014). Youth, between the ages of 10 and 18, struggle with historic and present day, multi-generational, trauma and poverty exhibiting risk factors exemplified by suicide attempts; depression; hopelessness; despair; alcohol, meth and/or other substance abuse; increased anger; conflicts; aggression, violence; and poor performance in school. Schools on the Turtle Mountain Reservation …

Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Facilitates Epileptiform–Activity In The Entorhinal Cortex Via Crf2 Signaling Mechanisms, Lalitha Kurada

Theses and Dissertations

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is characterized by hyperexcitability of limbic structures. The entorhinal cortex (EC) is involved in the initiation and maintenance of TLE. Layers II and III of the EC in particular are hyperexcitable and are more susceptible to epileptogenesis. TLE is influenced in a complex manner by the stress-released epileptogenic neuropeptide, corticotropin-releasing factor or hormone (CRF/CRH). Nevertheless, the action site and underlying mechanisms of CRF in epilepsy are not fully understood. Here we found that the EC expresses high levels of CRF and CRF2 receptors without the expression of CRF1 receptors. CRF increased the frequency of picrotoxin (PTX)-induced …

N-Cadherin Expression And Emt Progression In Arsenic- And Cadmium-Transformed Urotsa, Elizabeth Sandquist

Theses and Dissertations

Environmental agents are common causes of bladder cancer. Specifically, arsenic (As3+) and cadmium (Cd2+) are known carcinogens implicated in the development of bladder cancer. Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that As3+ and Cd2+ can cause malignant transformation of normal immortalized bladder urothelial cells, which can form tumors when injected subcutaneous or intraperitoneal into nude mice. Microarray analysis of repeated metal transformation in parallel revealed that N-cadherin was the most upregulated gene in As3+ transformants, and a top induced gene in Cd2+-transformed cells. The switch from E-cadherin to N-cadherin is a well-known indicator of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition occurring in …

Prevalence And Distribution Of Ranavirus, Chytrid Fungus, And Helminths In North Dakota Amphibians, Melanie Paige Firkins

Theses and Dissertations

Worldwide reports of population declines and extinctions of amphibians have continued for at least two decades. Factors frequently reported in association with these declines include habitat loss, infectious diseases, and environmental degradation. Three sources of disease have been a concern for amphibians: chytrid fungus, Ranavirus, and some helminth parasites. Much of the existing reporting on disease results from anecdotal accounts associated with localized outbreaks, but understanding the scope and dynamics of infectious agents in host populations requires a regional perspective. My objectives were to estimate geographic distribution and prevalence of Ranavirus, chytrid fungus, and helminths in amphibians across the state …

Characterization Of Dopamine Transporter Palmitoylation, Danielle Elizabeth Rastedt

Theses and Dissertations

The dopamine transporter (DAT) is an integral membrane protein that mediates the reuptake of synaptic dopamine and thus regulates the spatio-temporal dynamics of dopaminergic neurotransmission. DAT is also the target of powerful addictive psychostimulants, including cocaine and methamphetamine that resulted in dysregulation of dopaminergic signaling. Complex control of DAT is exerted by various regulatory processes, including posttranslational modifications. We previously found that DAT is palmitoylated via the addition of a 16-carbon palmitic acid moiety to Cys 580. Pharmacological and mutagenic studies determined that depalmitoylation conditions led to reductions in Vmax and transporter levels, suggesting palmitoylation controls one or more functions …

"A Picture Terrible In Its Significance": Jack Johnson, Interracial Relationships, And Methods Of White Social Control In Early Twentieth-Century America, Aimee M. Duchsherer

Theses and Dissertations

In early twentieth-century America, white society used white female purity, psychological and racial pressures, and intense physical violence as methods by which to control the sexual behavior of black men and white women. An exploration of the case study of African American boxer Jack Johnson reveals the use of these tools in the public response to his relationships with three white women: Belle Schreiber, Etta Duryea, and Lucille Cameron. As Johnson challenged white men in the boxing ring, he further challenged their supposed racial superiority through his blatant, public sexual relationships with and marriages to white women. Using legal documents …

The Relationship Between Interrogative Suggestibility And Decision-Making, Darci Van Dyke

Theses and Dissertations

Interrogative suggestibility is the individual's tendency to yield to misleading questions and negative feedback. Individuals who exhibit this tendency have been found to be more likely to falsely confess to a crime, a decision with often severe negative consequences. Many individual differences in cognition, emotion, and personality have been linked with interrogative suggestibility. These individual differences have also been found to be related to an individual's decision-making ability. However, the relationship between interrogative suggestibility and decision-making has not been investigated. The current project sought to determine how decision-making abilities, cognitive ability, memory, and anxiety predict variability in interrogative suggestibility. Results …

Phylogenetic Analysis Of Mitochondrial Genomes Of Filarial Nematodes In The Subfamily Waltonellinae, Sarina Marie Bauer

Theses and Dissertations

The family Onchocercidae is a group of parasitic vector born nematodes that are split up into eight subfamilies. Although the subfamilies containing species that parasitize humans and livestock (e.g., Onchocercinae) have been well-studied, there is a considerable lack of information for the lesser studied subfamilies in Onchocercidae (e.g. Waltonellinae). This uncertainty leaves some doubt as to the phylogenetic and evolutionary relationships among the different taxonomic groupings of filarioid nematodes.

I worked with two species of the subfamily Waltonellinae, Foleyellides n. sp. and F. flexicauda. The primers used in this study for polymerase chain reactions (PCR) and DNA sequencing reactions were …

Refining Transformation Rules For Converting Uml Operations To Z Schema, Tamaike Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The UML (Unified Modeling Language) has its origin in mainstream software engineering and is often used informally by software designers. One of the limitations of UML is the lack of precision in its semantics, which makes its application to safety critical systems unsuitable. A safety critical system is one in which any loss or misinterpretation of data could lead to injury, loss of human lives and/or property. Safety Critical systems are usually specified by very precisely and frequently required formal verification. With the continuous use of UML in the software industry, there is a need to augment the informality of …

Elementary Teachers' Nonverbal Immediacy Behaviors During Math Instruction, Sonja Marie Brandt

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe elementary teachers’ nonverbal immediacy behaviors during math instruction. The instructional and non-instructional nonverbal behaviors of six female third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers were studied. Methods used included video recording math lessons, conducting one-on-one interviews, and reviewing relevant literature. Data analyses were completed through documenting major nonverbal behaviors displayed and identifying codes, categories, themes, and assertions (utilizing Excel spreadsheet software).

The conceptual framework underlying this study has its foundation in phenomenology. As a research methodology, phenomenology investigates how an experience is lived by its participants. Immediacy was the construct used to …

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Wing Color Pattern Development In Vanessa Cardui And Evolution Of The Polycomb Repressive Complex 2, Heidi Connahs

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I present four papers. Three explore different aspects of wing color pattern development in the painted lady butterfly, Vanessa cardui; while the fourth examines the evolution of an epigenetic silencer complex across invertebrate animals. In the first paper, I used transcriptomics to identify patterning genes from the Drosophila wing gene regulatory network (GRN) in larval and pupal wings of V. cardui and to examine how temporal expression dynamics of this gene network correspond to expression of ommochrome and melanin pigment genes. This study identified key developmental periods of gene upregulation and highlights the temporal separation between peak …

Student Perceptions Of Online Education At Community Colleges: A Review Of The Literature, George Joseph Ellefson

Theses and Dissertations

There is a need to identify and discuss community college student perceptions of online education as a window to an array of challenges that these institutions face. Student perspectives can confirm, or disconfirm, the impressions and accounts of other community college stakeholders and decision makers.

The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive review of the literature from 1995-2015 that answered the primary research question, "What are the student perceptions of online education at community colleges in the United States?" Extensive strategies were used to locate information for review. Analysis of the literature yielded a framework for formulating …

Parasites Within Parasites: Transmission And Evolution Of Neorickettsia In Digeneans, Stephen Edward Greiman

Theses and Dissertations

Digeneans are endoparasitic flatworms with complex life cycles that involve two or more different animals as definitive and intermediate hosts. Some digenean species harbor bacterial endosymbionts belonging to the genus Neorickettsia (Order: Rickettsiales, Family: Anaplasmataceae). Neorickettsia occur in all life cycle stages of digeneans and are maintained by vertical transmission. Far from benign however, Neorickettsia may also be transmitted horizontally by digenean parasites to their vertebrate definitive hosts. Once inside, Neorickettsia can infect macrophages and other cell types. For some vertebrate species (e.g. dogs, horses and humans), neorickettsial infections cause severe disease. With a few exceptions, studies of Neorickettsia have …

Student Perceptions Of Digital Resources And Digital Technology In A Flipped Classroom, Larry S. Guggisberg

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze student perceptions of flipped classroom instruction strategies, and student perceptions of their learning experience using digital resources and digital technology in a flipped classroom. Although perceptions are important, student achievement is a common tool used by policy-makers and judged by the general public as a means to evaluate and achieve continuous improvement in K-12 public education.

This case study may be a beneficial illustration for school administrator practitioners to consider prior to implementation or utilization of flipped classroom instructional strategies. The study provides a review of a high school that first implemented …

Using Computer Vision And Volunteer Computing To Analyze Avian Nesting Patterns And Reduce Scientist Workload, Kyle Andrew Goehner

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the use of feature detection and background subtraction algorithms to classify and detect events of interest within uncontrolled outdoor avian nesting video from the Wildlife@Home project. We tested feature detection using Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF) and a Support Vector Machine (SVM) along with four background subtraction algorithms — Mixture of Guassians (MOG), Running Gaussian Average (AccAvg), ViBe, and Pixel-Based Adaptive Segmentation (PBAS) — as methods to automatically detect and classify events from surveillance cameras. AccAvg and modified PBAS are shown to provide robust results and compensate for issues caused by cryptic coloration of the monitored species. …

Comparisons Of Muskrat (Ondatra Zibethicus) Trapping Efficiency And Incidental Take Of Non-Target Water Birds Using Covered And Uncovered Float Sets, Rodney Allen Gross Jr

Theses and Dissertations

Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) have been a highly sought after furbearer species in North Dakota because of recent pelt prices. In 2011, regulation changes allowed trappers to use float sets to trap muskrats during the spring season. The current regulations require float sets used during the spring trapping season to have a covering made of either wire mesh, wood, or plastic and must not have an opening exceeding 20.32 cm (8 in) to attempt to minimize the incidental take of non-target species. The primary goals of this project were to determine if muskrat float set covers are effective in eliminating incidental …

Performing The Role Of Sylvestro In Scapino!, Zachary Cal Lee

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to successfully portray the character of Sylvestro in Frank Dunlop and Jim Dale's Scapino!, an adaptation of Moliere's Les Fourberies de Scapin. In order to fully grasp the comedy of the script, an analysis of the comedy of Scapino! was conducted using French philosopher Henri Bergson's essay Laughter. This helped to find what made situations and characters funny in the script. It also influenced an analysis of the character of Sylvestro. By using Bergson's philosophies and applying them to the research, the third chapter illustrates that the rehearsal process of Scapino! has been successful …

Climate Driven Hillslope Degradation Of Mono Basin Moraine, Eastern Sierra Nevada, California, Usa, Risa Madoff

Theses and Dissertations

Regolith transport within the uppermost 30-50 cm of Earth's surface is responsive to shifts in climate. Rates of surface change affect accumulation rates of sediment and nutrients, thereby affecting ecology, surface stability, and the ability to date landform surfaces. However, little is known about the quantitative effects past climates have had on the long term evolution of the landscape. A space-for-time substitution method was used to study this knowledge gap. Known degradation rates from widely varying climates were used to generate a transfer function where published paleo-temperature records from the Death Valley sediment core (DV93-1) were applied to derive paleo-degradation …

Innate Immune Response To Yersinia Pestis, Sanghita Sarkar

Theses and Dissertations

This study demonstrates the various aspects of host immune response to Yersinia pestis. Y. pestis, the causative agent plague is mainly a rodent pathogen but is usually transmitted to humans via infected flea bite. After transmission to mammalian hosts, Y. pestis evades the host innate immune response and develops a systemic infection. Mast cells are recognized as the powerful sentinel cells responsible for controlling the early responses to a disease. We sought to determine whether mast cells are involved in the early innate immune response to Y. pestis and thus blocking mast cell degranulation would alter the outcome of infection. …

Prevalence Of Haemoparasites And West Nile Virus Seropositivity In Song Birds (Passeriformes) From Northwest Mn And Behavioral Aspects Of Microfilariae, Chad Allan Stromlund

Theses and Dissertations

Mosquitoes transmit arboviruses, haemosporidian protozoa (e.g., malaria), and filarioid nematodes. Many of these mosquito-borne pathogens occur together and transmission cycles are occurring concurrently. Despite this, mosquito pathogen transmission cycles are largely studied independently of one another. Considering the large temporal and spatial overlap among these various transmission cycles, the question becomes, what kinds of interactions are occurring between parasite transmission cycles and arboviral transmission cycles? Also, some species of mosquito are incapable of transmitting some species of arbovirus. Therefore, there must be natural barriers to prevent arbovirus infection and transmission. These barriers include the midgut barrier and the salivary gland …

Clustering And Control Of Streaming Synchrophasor Datasets, Anupam Mukherjee

Theses and Dissertations

With the large scale deployment of phasor measurement units (PMU) in the United States, a resonating topic has been the question of how to extract useful “information” or “knowledge” from voluminous data generated by supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), PMUs and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).

With a sampling rate of 30 to as high as 120 samples per second, the PMU provide a fine-grained monitoring of the power grid with time synchronized measurements of voltage, current, frequency and phase angle. Running the sensors continuously can produce nearly 2,592,000 samples of data every day. This large data need to be …

Investigating Flipped Learning: Post-Secondary Student Self-Regulated Learning, Perceptions, And Achievement, Sarah Rae Sletten

Theses and Dissertations

The flipped classroom is a current educational model that is gaining popularity at the post-secondary level. In a flipped classroom, content (i.e., lectures), which is normally delivered in-class, is assigned as homework in the form of video lectures, and assignments that were traditionally assigned as homework, are done as learning activities in class. It was hypothesized that the effectiveness of the flipped model hinges on a student’s desire and ability to adopt a self-directed learning style. The purpose of this study was two-fold; it aimed examining the relationship between two variables—students’ perceptions of the flipped model and their SRL behaviors—and …

Role Of Lectins Receptors In Development Of Sepsis During Pulmonary Bacterial Infection, Anthony Lee Steichen

Theses and Dissertations

A major focus of my work has been to understand the mechanism/s of sepsis development during respiratory bacterial infections with the goal of identifying novel alarmins/alarmin receptors. Specifically, I have analyzed the role of C-type lectins as novel alarmin/alarmin receptors likely involved in the development of sepsis resulting from acute pulmonary infection with Gram negative bacteria Francisella novicida and Klebsiella pneumonia (Kpn). In that regard, the first project was built upon a previous observation, made by Dr. Sharma, that two soluble lectins galectin-3 and -9 were upregulated and released in extracellular milieu in lungs of mice upon pulmonary infection with …