Digital Commons Network^™

The Oldest Record Of Aquatic Amniote Congenital Scoliosis, Tomasz Szczygielski, Dawid Surmik, Agnieszka Kapuscinska, Bruce M. Rotheschild

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

We report the first occurrence of congenital scoliosis in an early Permian aquatic parareptile, Stereosternum tumidum from Parana ́ state, Brazil. The spine malformation is caused by a congenital hemivertebra. These observations give insight into the biomechanical aspects of underwater locomotion in an axial skeleton-compromised aquatic amniote. This is the oldest record of a hemivertebra in an aquatic animal.

Comprehensive Analysis Of Lncrnas And Mrnas In Skeletal Muscle Of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) Exposed To Estradiol, Jian Wang, Pransanthi P. Kogan, Jianbo Yao, Shuo Wei, Beth Cleveland

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Estradiol (E2) is a steroid hormone that negatively affects muscle growth in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), but the mechanisms directing with this response are not fully understood. To better characterize the effects of E2 in muscle, we identified differentially regulated mRNAs and lncRNAs in juvenile rainbow trout exposed to E2. Here, we performed next-generation RNA sequencing and comprehensive bioinformatics analyses to characterize the transcriptome profiles, including mRNAs and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), in skeletal muscle of rainbow trout injected with E2. A total of 226 lncRNAs and 253 mRNAs were identified as differentially regulated. We identified crucial pathways, including several …

Comparison Of Photon Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy, Intensity-Modulated Proton Therapy, And Intensity-Modulated Carbon Ion Therapy For Delivery Of Hypo-Fractionated Thoracic Radiotherapy, Alexander Chi, Lien-Chun Lin, Sijin Wen, Wen-Chen Hsi, Haijuan Yan

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Purpose

The aim of the present study was to compare the dose distribution generated from photon volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT), and intensity modulated carbon ion therapy (IMCIT) in the delivery of hypo-fractionated thoracic radiotherapy.

Methods and materials

Ten selected patients who underwent thoracic particle therapy between 2015 and 2016 were re-planned to receive a relative biological effectiveness (RBE) weighted dose of 60 Gy (i.e., GyE) in 15 fractions delivered with VMAT, IMPT, or IMCIT with the same optimization criteria. Treatment plans were then compared.

Results

There were no significant differences in target volume dose …

Orthodontic Treatment Completion And Discontinuation In A Rural Sample From North Central Appalachia In The Usa, Chris A. Martin, Breana M. Dieringer, Daniel W. Mcneil

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background: Orthodontics has inherent demands, requiring regular appointments and active patient engagement, but relatively little is established in regard to rates of completion of treatment and possible factors affecting successful completion. These factors may be particularly important for cultural minority groups, such as those in rural Appalachia, given the environmental, social, and economic complexities affecting access to and utilization of treatment.

Design and methods: A naturalistic study design was employed, using retrospective data from a rural outpatient general dental office in July 2012. Chart abstraction yielded 219 (55.3% female) orthodontic patients (M age = 11.0 [3.7]). Chi-square tests for independence …

Two Types Of Bone Necrosis In The Middle Triassic Pistosaurus Longaevus Bones: The Results Of Integrated Studies, Dawid Surmik, Bruce M. Rothschild, Mateusz Dulski, Katarzyna Janiszewska

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Avascular necrosis, diagnosed on the basis of either a specific pathological modification of the articular surfaces of bone or its radiologic appearance in vertebral centra, has been recognized in many Mesozoic marine reptiles as well as in present-day marine mammals. Its presence in the zoological and paleontologic record is usually associated with decompression syndrome, a disease that affects secondarily aquatic vertebrates that could dive. Bone necrosis can also be caused by infectious processes, but it differs in appearance from decompression syndrome-associated aseptic necrosis. Herein, we report evidence of septic necrosis in the proximal articular surface of the femur of a …

Mti-101 Treatment Inducing Activation Of Stim1 And Trpc1 Expression Is A Determinant Of Response In Multiple Myeloma, Michael F. Emmons, Nagaraju Anreddy, Kayla Steinberger, Shengyu Yang, Mark Mclaughlin, Ariosto Silva, Lori A. Hazlehurst

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The emergence of drug resistance continues to be a major hurdle towards improving patient outcomes for the treatment of Multiple Myeloma. MTI-101 is a first-in-class peptidomimetic that binds a CD44/ITGA4 containing complex and triggers necrotic cell death in multiple myeloma cell lines. In this report, we show that acquisition of resistance to MTI-101 correlates with changes in expression of genes predicted to attenuate Ca2+ flux. Consistent with the acquired resistant genotype, MTI-101 treatment induces a rapid and robust increase in intracellular Ca2+ levels in the parental cells; a finding that was attenuated in the acquired drug resistant cell line. Mechanistically, …

Upregulation Of Mirna-4776 In Influenza Virus Infected Bronchial Epithelial Cells Is Associated With Downregulation Of Nfkbib And Increased Viral Survival, Sreekumar Othumpangat, Nicole B. Bryan, Donald H. Beezhold, John D. Noti

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Influenza A virus (IAV) infection remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. One key transcription factor that is activated upon IAV infection is nuclear factor Kappa B (NF-κB). NF-κB regulation involves the inhibitor proteins NF-κB inhibitor beta (NFKBIB), (also known as IκB β), which form complexes with NF-κB to sequester it in the cytoplasm. In this study, microarray data showed differential expression of several microRNAs (miRNAs) on exposure to IAV. Target scan analysis revealed that miR-4776, miR-4514 and miR-4742 potentially target NFKBIB messenger RNA (mRNA). Time-course analysis of primary bronchial epithelial cells (HBEpCs) showed that miR-4776 expression is …

Development And Design Of Next-Generation Head-Mounted Ambulatory Microdose Positron-Emission Tomography (Am-Pet) System, Samantha Melroy, Christopher Bauer, Matthew Mchugh, Garret Carden, Alexander Stolin, Stan Majewski, Julie Bredczynski-Lewis, Thorsten Wuest

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Several applications exist for a whole brain positron-emission tomography (PET) brain imager designed as a portable unit that can be worn on a patient’s head. Enabled by improvements in detector technology, a lightweight, high performance device would allow PET brain imaging in different environments and during behavioral tasks. Such a wearable system that allows the subjects to move their heads and walk—the Ambulatory Microdose PET (AM-PET)—is currently under development. This imager will be helpful for testing subjects performing selected activities such as gestures, virtual reality activities and walking. The need for this type of lightweight mobile device has led to …

Peripheral Blood Akap7 Expression As An Early Marker For Lymphocyte-Mediated Post-Stroke Blood Brain Barrier Disruption, Grant C. O'Connell, Madison B. Treadway, Ashley B. Petrone, Connie S. Tennant, Noelle Lucke-Wold, Paul D. Chantler, Taura L. Barr

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Our group recently identified 16 genes whose peripheral blood expression levels are differentially regulated in acute ischemic stroke. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the early expression levels of any of these 16 genes are predictive for post-stroke blood brain barrier (BBB) disruption. Transcriptional expression levels of candidate genes were measured in peripheral blood sampled from ischemic stroke patients at emergency department admission, and BBB permeability was assessed at 24 hour follow up via perfusion-weighted imaging. Early heightened expression levels of AKAP7, a gene encoding a protein kinase A-binding scaffolding molecule, were significantly associated with BBB …

Vascular Endothelial Overexpression Of Human Cyp2j2 (Tie2-Cyp2j2 Tr) Modulates Cardiac Oxylipin Profiles And Enhances Coronary Reactive Hyperemia In Mice, Ahmad Hanif, Matthew L. Edin, Darryl C. Zeldin, Chridtophe Morisseau, John R. Falck, Mohammed A. Nayeem

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Arachidonic acid is metabolized to epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) by cytochrome (CYP) P450 epoxygenases, and to ω-terminal hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs) by ω-hydroxylases. EETs and HETEs often have opposite biologic effects; EETs are vasodilatory and protect against ischemia/reperfusion injury, while ω-terminal HETEs are vasoconstrictive and cause vascular dysfunction. Other oxylipins, such as epoxyoctadecaenoic acids (EpOMEs), hydroxyoctadecadienoic acids (HODEs), and prostanoids also have varied vascular effects. Post-ischemic vasodilation in the heart, known as coronary reactive hyperemia (CRH), protects against potential damage to the heart muscle caused by ischemia. The relationship among CRH response to ischemia, in mice with altered levels of CYP2J epoxygenases …

Adult Sporadic Burkitt’S Lymphoma Presenting With Rapid Development Of Peritoneal Lymphomatosis, Naomi Fei, Nilay Shah

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Sporadic Burkitt’s Lymphoma (BL) is a highly aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma which requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. Though usual presentation involves abdominal lymphadenopathy with possible solid organ involvement, sporadic BL can rarely present with peritoneal lymphomatosis. We present a unique case with rapid evolution of BL presenting as peritoneal and omental lymphomatosis with hepatic lesions and pelvic and pericardial adenopathy.

Stabilization Of Hif-1Α And Hif-2Α, Up-Regulation Of Mycc And Accumulation Of Stabilized P53 Constitute Hallmarks Of Cns-Pnet Animal Model, Sergey Malchenko, Simone T. Srendni, Yingtao Bi, Naira V. Margaryan, Jerusha Boyineni, Indra Mohanam, Tandra Tomita, Ramana V. Davuluri, Marcelo B. Soares

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Recently, we described a new animal model of CNS primitive neuroectodermal tumors (CNS-PNET), which was generated by orthotopic transplantation of human Radial Glial (RG) cells into NOD-SCID mice’s brain sub-ventricular zone. In the current study we conducted comprehensive RNA-Seq analyses to gain insights on the mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis in this mouse model of CNS-PNET. Here we show that the RNA-Seq profiles derived from these tumors cluster with those reported for patients’ PNETs. Moreover, we found that (i) stabilization of HIF-1α and HIF-2α, which are involved in mediation of the hypoxic responses in the majority of cell types, (ii) up-regulation of …

Nano-Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Nano-Mri) Gives Personalized Medicine A New Perspective, Lorenzo Rosa, Jonathan Blackledge, Albert Boretti

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This paper reviews some of the major and most recent advances in nanoscale-magnetic resonance imaging (nano-MRI) for personalized medicine (PM). Nano-MRI may drastically expand the capabilities of the traditional magnetic resonance images (MRI), down to the nanometer scale and possibly, in the near future, at the atomic scale. Nano-MRI is potentially able to observe structures which cannot be seen using today’s molecular imaging, with sensitivities of many billions of times better than MRI as currently used in hospitals, for example. The paper briefly reports on the foremost research themes in nano-MRI.

Phospholipid Binding To The Fak Catalytic Domain Impacts Function, Jessica E. Hall, Michael D. Schaller

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Focal adhesion kinase is an essential nonreceptor tyrosine kinase that plays an important role in development, in homeostasis and in the progression of human disease. Multiple stimuli activate FAK, which requires a change in structure from an autoinhibited to activated conformation. In the autoinhibited conformation the FERM domain associates with the catalytic domain of FAK and PI(4,5)P2 binding to the FERM domain plays a role in the release of autoinhibition, activating the enzyme. An in silico model of FAK/PI(4,5)P2 interaction suggests that residues on the catalytic domain interact with PI(4,5)P2, in addition to the known FERM domain PI(4,5)P2 binding site. …

Identification Of Small Molecule Modulators Of Hiv-1 Tat And Rev Protein Accumulation, Ahalya Balachandran, Raymond Wong, Peter Stoilov, Sandy Pan, Benjamin Blencowe, Peter Cheung, P Richard Harrigan, Alan Cochrane

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background

HIV-1 replication is critically dependent upon controlled processing of its RNA and the activities provided by its encoded regulatory factors Tat and Rev. A screen of small molecule modulators of RNA processing identified several which inhibited virus gene expression, affecting both relative abundance of specific HIV-1 RNAs and the levels of Tat and Rev proteins.

Results

The screen for small molecules modulators of HIV-1 gene expression at the post-transcriptional level identified three (a pyrimidin-7-amine, biphenylcarboxamide, and benzohydrazide, designated 791, 833, and 892, respectively) that not only reduce expression of HIV-1 Gag and Env and alter the accumulation of viral …

Divergent Human Cortical Regions For Processing Distinct Acoustic-Semantic Categories Of Natural Sounds: Animal Action Sounds Vs. Vocalizations, Paula J. Webster, Laura M. Skipper-Kallal, Chris A. Frum, Hayley N. Still, B Douglas Ward, James W. Lewis

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

A major gap in our understanding of natural sound processing is knowledge of where or how in a cortical hierarchy differential processing leads to categorical perception at a semantic level. Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we sought to determine if and where cortical pathways in humans might diverge for processing action sounds vs. vocalizations as distinct acoustic-semantic categories of real-world sound when matched for duration and intensity. This was tested by using relatively less semantically complex natural sounds produced by non-conspecific animals rather than humans. Our results revealed a striking double-dissociation of activated networks bilaterally. This included a …

Pyrolysis Gas As A Carbon Source For Biogas Production Via Anaerobic Digestion, Yeqing Li, Dongfang Su, Sen Luo, Hao Jiang, Mingyu Qian, Hongjun Zhou, Jason Street, Yan Luo, Quan Xu

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Carbon is an important resource for anaerobes to enhance biogas production. In this study, the possibility of using simulated pyrolysis gas (SPG) as a carbon source for biogas production was investigated. The effects of stirring speed (SS), gas holding time (GHT), and H2 addition on biomethanation of SPG were evaluated. The diversity and structure of microbial communities were also analyzed under an illumina MiSeq platform. Results indicated that at a GHT of 14 h and an SS at 400 rpm, SPG with up to 64.7% CH4could be bio-upgraded to biogas. Gas–liquid mass transfer is the limitation for SPG biomethanation. For …

Original Paper Cell Free Dna As A Marker Of Training Status In Weightlifters, Jeremy A. Gentles, William G. Hornsby, Christine L. Coniglio, Andrew R. Dotterweich, Jon A. Miller, Charles A. Stuart, Michael H. Stone

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The purpose of this investigation was to elucidate the changes in cf-DNA as it relates to fluctuations in resistance training workloads and intensities. The relationship between cell free DNA (cf-DNA), C-reactive protein (CRP), creatine kinase (CK), testosterone (T), cortisol (C), testosterone-cortisol ratio (T:C), body mass and body composition were also examined. Eight weightlifters (5 males and 3 females, age = 25 ± 3.5 yr, body mass = 88.3 ± 22.7 kg, height = 173.8 ±8.4 cm) volunteered to participate in this study. Venous blood samples, body mass and body composition were taken six times, each corresponding to the end of …

Morphological And Chemical Properties Of Particulate Matter In The Dammam Metropolitan Region: Dhahran, Khobar, And Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Bassam S. Tawabini, Taoreed T. Lawal, Abdulaziz Shaibani, Ashraf Farahat

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Characteristics of airborne particulate matter (PM) as well as its levels in air samples collected from selected sites within cities of Dhahran, Khobar, and Dammam, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, are investigated. Concentration levels of the 10 microns’ PM (i.e., PM10) are determined using the gravimetric technique. Morphological and chemical characteristics of the PM collected from the sampling cities are studied using Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). Moreover, levels and types of hazardous materials related to these samples are assessed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Results revealed that …

Global Three-Dimensional Simulation Of Earth's Dayside Reconnection Using A Two-Way Coupled Magnetohydrodynamics With Embedded Particle-In-Cell Model: Initial Results, Yuxi Chen, Gábor Tóth, Paul Cassak, Xianzhe Jia, Tamas I. Gombosi, James A. Slavin, Stefano Markidis, Ivy Bo Peng, Vania K. Jordanova, Michael G. Henderson

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Comprehensive Population-Wide Analysis Of Lynch Syndrome In Iceland Reveals Founder Mutations In Msh6 And Pms2, Sigurdis Haraldsdottir, Thorunn Rafnar, Wendy L. Frankel, Sylvia Einarsdottir, Asgeir Sigurdsson, Heather Hampel, Petur Snaebjornsson, Gisli Masson, Daniel Weng, Reynir Arngrimsson, Birte Kehr, Ahmet Yilmaz, Stefan Haraldsson, Patrick Sulem, Tryggvi Stefansson, Peter G. Shields, Fridjorn Sigurdsson, Tanios Bekaii-Saab, Pall H. Moller, Margret Steinarsdottir, Kristin Alexiusdottir, Megan Hitchins, Coiln C. Pritchard, Albert De La Chapelle, Jon G. Jonasson, Richard M. Goldberg, Kari Stefansson

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Lynch syndrome, caused by germline mutations in the mismatch repair genes, is associated with increased cancer risk. Here using a large whole-genome sequencing data bank, cancer registry and colorectal tumour bank we determine the prevalence of Lynch syndrome, associated cancer risks and pathogenicity of several variants in the Icelandic population. We use colorectal cancer samples from 1,182 patients diagnosed between 2000–2009. One-hundred and thirty-two (11.2%) tumours are mismatch repair deficient per immunohistochemistry. Twenty-one (1.8%) have Lynch syndrome while 106 (9.0%) have somatic hypermethylation or mutations in the mismatch repair genes. The population prevalence of Lynch syndrome is 0.442%. We discover …

Quality Improvement Intervention For Reduction Of Redundant Testing, Alan M. Ducatman, Danyel H. Tacker, Barbara S. Ducatman, Dustin Long, Peter L. Perrotta, Hannah Lawther, Kelly Pennington, Owen Lander, Mary Warden, Conard Failinger, Kevin Halbritter, Ronald Pellegrino, Marney Treese, Jeffery A. Stead, Eric Glass, Lauren Cianciaruso, Konrad C. Nau

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Laboratory data are critical to analyzing and improving clinical quality. In the setting of residual use of creatine kinase M and B isoenzyme testing for myocardial infarction, we assessed disease outcomes of discordant creatine kinase M and B isoenzyme +/troponin I (−) test pairs in order to address anticipated clinician concerns about potential loss of case-finding sensitivity following proposed discontinuation of routine creatine kinase and creatine kinase M and B isoenzyme testing. Time-sequenced interventions were introduced. The main outcome was the percentage of cardiac marker studies performed within guidelines. Nonguideline orders dominated at baseline. Creatine kinase M and B isoenzyme …

Anesthetic Management Of Pheochromocytoma Resection In Adults With Single Ventricle Physiology, Giancarlo Suffredini, Natalia Diaz-Rodriguez, Krishnan Chakravarthy, Aarti Mathur, Heather K. Hayanga, Steve M. Frank, Riachard E. Ringel, Stephen Freiberg, Viachaslau M. Barodka, Jochen Steppan

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Survival rates for patients with palliated congenital heart disease are increasing, and an increasing number of adults with cyanotic congenital heart disease (CCHD) might require surgical resection of pheochromocytoma-paraganglioma (PHEO-PGL). A recent study supports the idea that patients with a history of CCHD and current or historical cyanosis might be at increased risk for developing PHEO-PGL. We review the anesthetic management of two adults with single-ventricle physiology following Fontan palliation presenting for PHEO-PGL resection and review prior published case reports. We found the use of epidural analgesia to be safe and effective in the operative and postoperative management of our …

Identification Of Snps Associated With Muscle Yield And Quality Traits Using Allelic-Imbalance Analyses Of Pooled Rna-Seq Samples In Rainbow Trout, Rafet Al-Tobasei, Ali Ali, Timothy D. Leeds, Sixin Liu, Yniv Palti, Brett Kenney, Mohamed Salem

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Coding/functional SNPs change the biological function of a gene and, therefore, could serve as “large-effect” genetic markers. In this study, we used two bioinformatics pipelines, GATK and SAMtools, for discovering coding/functional SNPs with allelic-imbalances associated with total body weight, muscle yield, muscle fat content, shear force, and whiteness. Phenotypic data were collected for approximately 500 fish, representing 98 families (5 fish/family), from a growth-selected line, and the muscle transcriptome was sequenced from 22 families with divergent phenotypes (4 low- versus 4 high-ranked families per trait).

Results

GATK detected 59,112 putative SNPs; of these SNPs, 4798 showed allelic imbalances (>2.0 …

Training Online Physical Educators: A Phenomenological Case Study, Tyler Goad, Emily Jones

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Online physical education (OLPE) presents a unique set of challenges in translating traditional physical education to a digital space, all while meeting the same benchmarks, curriculum, and assessment standards of traditional courses. Currently, limited research exists investigating how physical educators are formally trained to deliver content online. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe the experiences and perceptions of students and instructor of a graduate-level OLPE teacher education (OLPETE) methods course. A phenomenographic research design was employed to examine the social phenomenon of one OLPETE methods course at a midwest midmajor college. Participants in this study were an …

Bad Ideas About Writing, Cheryl E. Ball, Drew M. Loewe

Open Access Textbooks

Bad Ideas About Writing counters major myths about writing instruction. Inspired by the provocative science- and social-science-focused book This Idea Must Die and written for a general audience, the collection offers opinionated, research-based statements intended to spark debate and to offer a better way of teaching writing. Contributors, as scholars of rhetoric and composition, provide a snapshot of and antidotes to major myths in writing instruction. This collection is published in whole by the Digital Publishing Institute at WVU Libraries and in part by Inside Higher Ed.

Supplemental files feature archived episodes of the Bad Ideas About Writing Podcast …

Flexible Polymer-Ceramic Composite Materials For High Sensitive Pressure Sensing Applications In Harsh Environments, Kavin Sivaneri Varadharajan Idhaiam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Robotics aligned with completing physical activities in the space environments will require a new suit of solid-state sensors that are versatile and robust, and will provide precise information about contact events with various space assets. One of the vital sensing mechanisms is the "feel-of-touch" or "tactile/haptic" feedback to the robotic system. Current robotics tactile/force sensor use mechanical switches for the feedback to determine whether the end-effector is in contact, which does not provide sufficient information regarding the local force and point-of-contact for the robotic end-effector. To tackle these challenges, the current work focusses on the development of flexible tactile sensor …

Analysis Of The Production Data From Marcellus Shale Wells, Amanda Parrish

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The increasingly prevalent practice of unconventional technologies has called for the need for the critical analysis of production decline rates to meet economic targets. The high early time production returns and transient flow make matching a production curve to known methods of decline curve analysis problematic.

This research focuses on finding a technique that best fits a known production curve and then applying that technique to another well to check its accuracy. The goal is to find the earliest time of production data necessary to predict an accurate production curve over the lifespan of the well. This is essential to …

Rethinking The Influence Of Hydroelectric Development On Gene Flow In A Long-Lived Fish, The Lake Sturgeon Acipenser Fulvescens, Craig A. Mcdougall, Amy B. Welsh, Thierry Gosselin, W Gary Anderson, Patrick A. Nelson

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Many hydroelectric dams have been in place for 50 - >100 years, which for most fish species means that enough generations have passed for fragmentation induced divergence to have accumulated. However, for long-lived species such as Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, it should be possible to discriminate between historical population structuring and contemporary gene flow and improve the broader understanding of anthropogenic influence. On the Winnipeg River, Manitoba, two hypotheses were tested: 1) Measureable quantities of former reservoir dwelling Lake Sturgeon now reside downstream of the Slave Falls Generating Station, and 2) genetically differentiated populations of Lake Sturgeon occur upstream and …

Social Media, Celebrity Endorsers And Effect On Purchasing Intentions Of Young Adults, Kaitlin M. Davis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Through an online survey methodology, this study explored how the relationship between the three celebrity-based characteristics -- trustworthiness, attractiveness and expertise -- and Millennials' social media usage influences Millennials' purchasing intentions, or their likelihood to buy the product or brand being endorsed. Millennials were the focus of this study due to their involvement with social media, their pre-existing parasocial interactions with celebrities on social media and their increased likelihood of buying products endorsed by celebrities with the hope of being more like them.;The most significant finding revealed that the three celebrity-based characteristics -- expertise, trustworthiness and attractiveness -- are perceived …