Digital Commons Network^™

Design And Synthesis Of Chelating Compounds And Solid-Supported Chelators For Metal Depleted Solutions, Surendra Dawadi

Dissertations

Metals are essential to life, yet they can be toxic for biological systems when present in excessive amounts. The major source of metal overload in humans is diet; and in some cases, intravenous feeding. Thus the removal of toxic metal ions from contaminated clinical products such as total parenteral nutrition (TPN) solutions, and drinking and waste water is extremely important. The use of chelating resins, which are polymeric solids containing covalently immobilized chelating compounds, for the selective removal of metal ions from contaminated solutions has been conceptualized long ago. Herein, the design and synthesis of metal specific chelating compounds and …

Spatial Mapping Of Macular Pigment Optical Density And Its Relationship To Contrast Sensitivity And Glare Disability, Christopher Michael Putnam

Dissertations

This dissertation explored the relationship of the macular pigment optical density (MPOD) spatial profile with measures of contrast sensitivity (CS), glare disability (GD), relative glare disability (RGD) and intraocular light scatter. A novel device capable of measuring MPOD across the central 16 degrees of retina along 8 principle meridians using customized heterochromatic flicker photometry (cHFP) at eccentricities of 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 degrees was built. MPOD was calculated as both discrete and integrated values at all measured retinal loci. CS was measured using vertical grating stimuli of 3, 6 and 9 cycles per degree (cpd) also presented at …

Community Organization Of Avian Malaria Parasites In Lowland Amazonia: Prevalence, Diversity, And Specialization In A Local Assemblage, Linda Maria Elenor Svensson

Dissertations

I characterized a lowland Amazonian assemblage of haemosporidian (“malaria”) parasites (Haemoproteus and Plasmodium) of understory birds by analyzing variation in prevalence (proportion of infected host individuals) among years and host species, documenting diversity of haemosporidian evolutionary lineages, and quantifying host specialization. Using standard molecular methods to screen for haemosporidia in 2488 individual birds from 104 species in the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Ecuador, I found 21.7% to be infected. Prevalence ranged significantly among years and host species. Forty-five putative evolutionary lineages of haemosporidia were identified, by sequencing part of the cytochrome b (cyt b) gene. Based on a comparative analysis, among …

Reassurance In Negative Space, Elizabyth A. Hiscox

Dissertations

This dissertation, Reassurance in Negative Space, is a poetry manuscript that deals with intersections of grief, gender, environment, and art in contemporary society. One of its guiding properties is an interest in the ekphrastic mode of composition: poetry in response to a work of visual art. American Hybrid poet-editor Cole Swensen discusses what has emerged as a new “hybrid” poetry that combines conventional approaches with more experimental forms; a stable first person narrator with fragmentation or juxtaposition, for example: “Hybrid poems often honor the avant-garde mandate to renew the forms and expand the boundaries of poetry—thereby increasing the expressive …

Conceptual Framework Alignment Between Primary Literature And Education In Animal Behaviour, Andrea Marie-Kryger Bierema

Dissertations

In 1963, Tinbergen revolutionized the study of animal behaviour in his paper On aims and methods of ethology (Zeitschrift Tierpsycholgie, 20, 410-433) by revamping the conceptual framework of the discipline. His framework suggests an integration of four questions: causation, ontogeny, survival value, and evolution. The National Research Council Committee (U.S.) on Undergraduate Biology Education to Prepare Research Scientists for the 21^st Century published BIO2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists (Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2003), which suggests alignment between current research and undergraduate education. Unfortunately, alignment has been rarely studied in college biology, especially for fundamental …

Oncolytic Tanapoxvirus Expressing Flic Causes Regression Of Human Colorectal Cancer Xenografts In Nude Mice, Steven J. Conrad

Dissertations

Cancers of the colon and rectum are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and existing therapies often perform poorly for individuals afflicted with advanced stage disease. Oncolytic virotherapy is an emerging therapeutic modality which shows great promise for addressing this serious medical need. Herein we describe the in vivo testing of recombinant variants of the tanapoxvirus (TPV), a virus endemic to equatorial Africa which causes a mild and self-limiting disease in humans. Recombinant tanapoxviruses were made deleted for the 66R gene, the 2L gene, or both. Some of the recombinants were armed with mouse chemotactic protein 1 (m …

Correlational Studies Of Organophosphate Levels And Endocrine Disruption, Immunomodulation, And Altered Glucose Homeostasis In A Human Population Study, Carrie Mckean

Dissertations

Organophosphate (OP) pesticides have become the most widely used insecticides since the removal of organochlorine pesticides (“Ch4 Organophosphate Insecticides.pdf,” n.d.) and are generally the most toxic of all pesticides to vertebrates (Soltaninejad & Abdollahi, 2009). As a result, ongoing research has been aimed at further understanding potential health effects from exposure.

The aim of this dissertation research project is to investigate and characterize correlations of OP body burden with human health effects. This research involves an investigation into three pertinent areas concerning OP exposure: thyroid disruption, altered hematology biomarkers, and alterations of glucose homeostasis. Data under investigation come exclusively from …

Characterizing Motor Control Signals In The Spinal Cord, Yi Guo

Dissertations

The main goal of this project is to develop a rodent model to study the central command signals generated in the brain and spinal cord for the control of motor function in the forearms. The nature of the central command signal has been debated for many decades with only limited progress. This thesis presents a project that investigated this problem using novel techniques. Rats are instrumented to record the control signals in their spinal cord while they are performing lever press task they are trained in. A haptic interface and wireless neural data amplifier system simultaneously collects dynamic and neural …

The Mpt Assessment Deployed Via Digital Mobile Application, Niall Duffy

Dissertations

This project will look at the area of the Matching Person and Technology assessment (MPT). This project will be to develop a version of the MPT that can be deployed as a mobile application. The key research being performed in this project will be the analysis of the results given on the mobile application when compared to those given via the traditional paper method. The MPT is a very large assessment; because of this there are a number of different specific assessments like workplace and education assessments (Cook, A.M. and Hussey, S. 2001). Because of the size of the assessment …

Revision Of 13 Genera Of Haploporidae (Trematoda), Eric Edward Pulis

Dissertations

The Haploporidae is a family of digeneans united by the combination of the possession of a hermaphroditic sac and a single testis or, rarely, two tandem testes. The major divisions in the Haploporidae have been based on the organization, development, and nature of the male and female reproductive systems. Overstreet and Curran (2005) has been the only attempt to organize the genera of the Haploporidae in a subfamilial framework. In the present work the validity of the subfamily Waretrematinae by Overstreet and Curran (2005) is assessed by morphological and molecular methods, based on original descriptions, type and vouchered, specimens and …

Filipino, Too: Compositions On Culture And Identity, Randy Eugene Gonzales

Dissertations

“Filipino, too: Compositions on Culture and Identity” is a creative dissertation that documents my journey to understand my cultural heritage, focusing on my displacement as an expatriate and as a third-generation Filipino American.

This Animal, Elena Therese Tomorowitz

Dissertations

This Animal is a poetic narrative about humans’ animalistic instincts and how we use them to navigate our relationships with others and the world around us.

Population Genetics And Microbial Communities Of The Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus Polyphemus), Daniel Lyle Gaillard

Dissertations

The gopher tortoise, Gopherus polyphemus, is an endangered species living in the southeastern United States. The recent and drastic decline in tortoise numbers has resulted in a multi-faceted approach to conserve this species. I used a population genetic approach to determine the population structure, genetic diversity and barriers to gene flow at a broad, regional and local scale. Tortoises are divided into five distinct genetic populations at the broad scale, the central populations have the highest levels of genetic diversity and the Tombigbee, Mobile, Apalachicola, Suwannee and St. John’s Rivers appear to be barriers to gene flow. At the regional …

The Effects Of Universal Design For Learning On The Academic Engagement Of Middle School Students, Kimberly M. Johnson-Harris

Dissertations

A multiple baseline across participants design was used to examine the impact of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), implemented as a total framework, on the academic engagement of middle school students with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD), and students who are at-risk for academic failure due to behavior problems, who are included in general education classes. Five teachers from two middle schools participated in professional development on UDL and UDL lesson plan design and then implemented UDL lessons in their classes. Data were collected on the fidelity of UDL implementation, student academic engagement during lesson plan implementation, and teacher acceptability …

Effects Of Speaker's Accent In A Multimedia Tutorial On Non-Native Students' Learning And Attitudes, Lam Vien Cao Ngoc

Dissertations

Research in the field of multimedia has yielded principles for the design of effective multimedia instructional messages including Mayer's principles regarding voice. According to the voice principle, students learn more deeply when the narration in a multimedia lesson is spoken by a native voice rather than a non-native voice. The generalizability of the voice principle has been demonstrated when applied to multimedia users who are native speakers of the language used in narration. However, three out of four English users are non-native speakers of English, and the vast majority of verbal exchanges in English do not involve any native speakers …

Evaluation Of Non-Functionalized Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes Composites For Bone Tissue Engineering, Ashim Gupta

Dissertations

Introduction: Bone defects and non-unions caused by trauma, tumor resection, pathological degeneration, or congenital deformity pose a great challenge in the field of orthopedics. Traditionally, these defects have been repaired by using autografts and allografts. Autografts have set the gold standard for clinical bone repair because of their osteoconductivity, osteoinductivity and osteogenicity. Nevertheless, the application of autografts is limited because of donor availability and donor site morbidity. Allografts have the advantage that the tissues are readily available and can be easily applied, especially when large segments of bone are to be reconstructed. However, their use is also limited by the …

Blood, Mud, And Money: Place And Public Land Conflicts In The Shawnee Hills, Karen Wolf

Dissertations

This dissertation examines conflicts involving the use of public land for both extractive resources and recreational purposes in Southern Illinois from an anthropological perspective. These conflicts are examined in terms of place, western ideas of nature and culture, and the debate concerning conservation versus preservation. The beginning point for this work was the question of whether or not place building influences conflicts over public land. The conflicts that this work encompasses are logging, hunting, use of off-road vehicles, equestrian, and hydraulic fracturing. My goal was to look at different recreational conflicts of Southern Illinois and determine how issues of place, …

The Effects Of Leadership And High-Stakes Testing On The Retention Of Teachers, Amy Krohn Thibodeaux

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine whether principal leadership behaviors and the demands of high-stakes tests had an impact on teachers’ intent to remain in the teaching profession. Perceptions of teachers concerning the contributing factors that led to their intent to remain in the teaching profession were also examined. Factors included in this study were examined by the researcher in an effort to gain knowledge of what leads to teacher job satisfaction in the teaching profession.

The researcher used a quantitative survey instrument with a qualitative component. The survey instrument was created by the researcher and consisted of …

Self-Determination Theory As A Pedagogical Foundation For Collegiate Physical Activity Courses, Scot Edward Long

Dissertations

Inactivity, obesity and associated medical, social and economic problems are pervasive in contemporary society. Modern science is aware of the preventative role physical activity offers in deterrence of these problems and the benefits physical education offers. Traditionally, physical education has focused primarily on physiological variables; however, physical activity begins with a behavioral change. Motivation is the necessary factor to initiate physical activity and self-determination theory (SDT) can be used to explain learner motivation in the world of collegiate physical education. Institutionalized schooling is typically performed in a controlling nature, which creates a poor environment for learning and motivation. The purpose …

Growth And Decline Of "Second Life" As An Educational Platform, Christine Libby Mark

Dissertations

Second Life, a 3D online immersive virtual environment, emerged in 2003 and was predicted to become the predominant online course delivery platform by 2013. Educational institutions initially rushed to create a presence in the Second Life; however, after 2009 those same institutions were disappointed by their experiences and deserted the virtual world. This study sought to uncover the reasons for the rapid decline of such a highly lauded educational platform. Using a mixed methods research design, utilizing a qualitative phenomenology with in-depth personal interviews of higher education administrators followed by a detailed quantitative survey instrument, the researcher was able to …

Relationship Between Leadership Styles Of High School Teachers, Principals, And Assistant Principals And Their Attitudes Toward School Wide Positive Behavior And Support Implementation, Geneva Cosweller Lampton-Holmes

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if seventh through twelfth grade educators’ attitudes towards School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) are affected based on their gender, years of experience, school discipline policy, leadership style, and knowledge of SWPBS.

Through an online survey, an analysis of the leadership style and knowledge of SWPBS of Mississippi teachers and administrators was conducted. Other variables included the school discipline policy and participants’ gender and years of experience. The study found that knowledge of SWPBS and school discipline policy had a significant impact on the educators’ attitudes towards SWPBS. Leadership style, gender, and years …

Oxidative Stress Alterations Following An Exercise Intervention In Cancer Survivors, Christopher P. Repka

Dissertations

Exercise interventions in cancer patients have been demonstrated to reduce cancer-treatment related side effects. Despite this, the underlying mechanisms associated with the protective aspects of exercise are generally uncharacterized, but treatment-associated oxidative stress is thought to play a role. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an exercise intervention on fatigue, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), muscular strength, and blood markers of DNA and protein oxidation compared to a non-exercising, cancer control group. METHODOLOGY: An initial fasting blood draw and assessments of muscular strength and CRF were administered to fifteen cancer patients within six weeks of completing radiation …

The Role Of Glutamate Signalling In Diabetic Neuropathy, Nadia Hussain

Dissertations

The majority of diabetics develop neuropathy, which can be debilitating, but the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are poorly understood. Diabetic neuropathy progresses in a distal to proximal manner. Previous studies have shown that glutamate, the most common excitatory neurotransmitter, plays a role in the pathogenesis of neuropathy. The reason why the role of glutamate in nociception becomes a problem in diabetes and the mechanisms that are involved are unknown. Based on the preliminary data, the hypothesis was that glutamate pathways are likely to be involved in diabetic neuropathy particularly neuropathic pain. Pathways were investigated to look for changes that might reflect …

Hypoxic Signals In The Ischemic Myocardium: Role Of Galectin-1 And Galectin-3, Satwat Hashmi

Dissertations

Myocardial infarction is the most serious manifestation of coronary artery disease and the cause of significant levels of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Galectin-1 (GAL-1) and Galectin-3 (GAL-3) are beta galactoside binding lectins with diverse functions. Hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) is a transcription factor mediating early and late responses to myocardial ischemia. We aim to study the direct effects of ischemia on GAL-1, GAL-3 and HIF-1α in the heart. Male C57B6/J and GAL-3 knockout mice were used for our two disease models. In the Myocardial infarction (MI) model, the left anterior descending artery of the heart is permanently ligated to …

Role Of Myd88 Protein In The Maintenance Of Immunological Self-Tolerance: Induction Of Autoimmunity By Salmonella Infection Consequent To Myd88 Deficiency, Jincy Merin Issac

Dissertations

Activation of the innate immune system is a prerequisite for the induction of adaptive immune responses to both infectious and non-infectious agents. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a family of proteins important for recognizing pathogen associated molecular patterns. MyD88 is an adaptor molecule whose function is critical in TLR signaling. MyD88-deficient (MyD88-/-) mice exhibit heightened susceptibility to infections, even by attenuated strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Paradoxically, despite their hypersusceptibility, infected MyD88-/- mice produce elevated serum levels of anti-Salmonella antibodies regardless of the route of infection. This hypergammaglobulinemia was observed with both Th1-driven (IgG2c and IgG3) and Th2-driven (IgG1) antibody …

An Exponentiality Test Using A Modified Lilliefors Test, Achut Prasad Adhikari

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Natural Radioactivity In Groundwater, Rocks And Sediments From Some Areas In The Uae: Distribution, Sources And Environmental Impact, Dalal Matar Al Shamsi

Dissertations

Groundwater contains a certain amount of natural radioactivity that generally results from the decay of uranium, thorium and ⁴⁰K isotopes. Knowledge of concentration levels, spatial distribution and sources of these isotopes in groundwater is crucial for environmentally safe and sustainable groundwater resources in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This dissertation focuses on investigating the distribution, environmental impact and sources of ²³⁵U, ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, as well as the activity of gross β and α in groundwater in some locations in the UAE. Additionally, groundwater samples from Oman and selected aquifer rocks and sediments from the UAE were …

Effects Of The Endocannabinoid Anandamide On Excitability And Calcium Signaling In Rat Ventricular Myocytes, Lina Tareq Al-Kury

Dissertations

Endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids) exert a wide range of biological effects. In addition to having their well-known neurobehavioral effects, a role for the major endocannabinoid anandamide (N-arachidonoyl ethanolamide; AEA), in the cardiovascular system in various pathological conditions has been reported. The aim of this thesis is to explore the effects of AEA on contractility, Ca2+ signaling, and action potential (AP) characteristics in rat ventricular myocytes. A video edge detection system was used to measure myocyte shortening. Intracellular Ca2+ was measured in cells loaded with the fluorescent indicator fura-2 AM. AEA (1 μM) caused a significant decrease in the amplitude of electrically-evoked …

Identification Of Novel Natural Compounds With Anti-Breast Cancer Activities, Yusra Saif Al Dhaheri

Dissertations

Breast cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer-related death in women worldwide. In this dissertation, natural compounds with anti-breast cancer activities were identified. We investigated the effect of Salinomycin, a potassium ionophore isolated from Streptomyces albus, on the survival of three human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7, T47D and MDA-MB-231. High concentrations of Salinomycin induced a G2 arrest, down regulation of survivin and triggered apoptosis. Interestingly, treatments with low concentrations of Salinomycin induced a transient G1 arrest at an earlier time and G2 arrest and senescence, associated with enlarged cell morphology, at a later time. There was also …

Dynamics Of Phase Locking In Neuronal Networks In The Presence Of Synaptic Plasticity, Zeynep Akcay

Dissertations

The behavior generated by neuronal networks depends on the phase relationships of its individual neurons. Observed phases result from the combined effects of individual cells and synaptic connections whose properties change dynamically. The properties of individual cells and synapses can often be characterized by driving the cell or synapse with inputs that arrive at different phases or frequencies, thus producing a feed-forward description of these properties. In this study, a recurrent network of two oscillatory neurons that are coupled with reciprocal synapses is considered. Feed-forward descriptions of the phase response curves of the neurons and the short-term synaptic plasticity properties …