Digital Commons Network^™

In Vitro Modeling And Analysis Of Axon Stretch Growth For The Sustained Growth Of Long Nerve Fibers, Joseph Rocco Loverde

Dissertations

The integration of long nerve fibers throughout the body is distinctive among somatic tissues. Single, individual motor neurons grow to a meter in length or more as they maintain connectivity with sacral areas of the spinal cord from the brain. Similarly, homologous growth also occurs via spinal ganglion neurons within the peripheral nervous system. The most widely studied aspect of nerve development has been the migration and extension of growth cones towards synaptic targets during early development. However, following growth cone extension, axonal fibers continue to grow in synchrony with the expansion of limbs and mit otic tissues throughout childhood …

A Longitudinal Look At Electronic Mentoring Relationships, Lyndsey Marie Havill

Dissertations

Current advancements in information technology are increasingly impacting work relationships. Rapid technological changes have significant implications specifically for workplace mentoring because they may offer faster and more economical ways of building relationships. However, the e-mentoring literature is still evolving, and the extent to which e-mentoring parallels face-to-face mentoring is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of mentoring functions over time and how the development varies depending on the amount and type of computer mediated communication. While career-support was greater at initial points in the relationship, psychosocial-support increased at a greater velocity for mentors. Bandwidth and …

Pattern Specific Isotopic Labeling Of Phenylalanine And Incorporation Into Recombinant Protein For Macromolecular Complex Study, Mary Catherine Hames

Dissertations

Macromolecular complexes are at the forefront of structural biology. Despite technological advances, there remains a significant size barrier for study of these systems. Site specific labeling of ILV methyl residues has been used to study systems such as the proteasome, but other methods are still needed. Aromatic amino acids have many of the advantages of methyl containing residues and are desirable for site specific labeling. They are often found in the protein core and at important interaction interfaces. Aromatic side chains have positions with multiple magnetically equivalent 1H probes and distinct carbon chemical shifts. Side chain ring flipping results in …

The Hierarchical Piecewise Linear Approximation Of Time Series Data, Vineetha Bettaiah

Dissertations

The primary contribution of this dissertation is the development of a new time series representation technique called the Hierarchical Piecewise Linear Ap- proximation (HPLA), which facilitates the development of an efficient and effective approach for time series matching. In the HPLA representation, a time series is partitioned into segments between identifiable perceptually important points called primary breakpoints, and each segment is represented independently at several levels of accuracy by placing additional secondary breakpoints between adjacent primary breakpoints. For a given compression ratio, the HPLA representation achieves higher reconstruction accuracy and retains local evolution trends better than the existing time series …

Exploiting Spatio-Temporal Patterns For Event Response Using Reinforcement Learning In A Synthetically-Augmented Environment, Salvador E. Barbosa

Dissertations

Events with detrimental effects caused by adversarial human actors, such as crimes and terrorist acts, require the convergence of three factors: a suitable target, a motivated offender, and the absence of a capable guardian. Positioning guardian agents in the spatio-temporal proximity of anticipated events in order to prevent or respond to them can be a difficult task. The most common approaches to this problem include models of the adversarial actors to which guardian agents respond. Such model-based approaches can be problematic when there is insufficient information to construct a reliable model, when the number of factors governing the actor's behavior …

Now It’S Our Time To Eat! Stakeholder Perceptions Of Influences On The Development Of Leaders In Malawi, Kanton T. Reynolds

Dissertations

This study explored stakeholder perceptions of influences on the development of sustainable leaders in Malawi, in Sub-Saharan Africa. Narratives from three stakeholder groups—leaders of grassroots organizations including civil society groups, academics and emerging scholars, and professionals who represent the small but growing middle class—capture insights on leader development in the post-colonial period starting with the country’s transition from single-party to multi-party rule in the early to mid-1990s. This multi-party movement galvanized disparate interests into political action for a democratic form of government, and set the backdrop for the current environment for leader development. Since then, the landscape for leadership in …

The Role Of A Servant-Leadership-Centered Approach On Preventing Hazing: A Focus On One Historically Black University Marching Band, Jr. Thomas Jones

Dissertations

While the exact roots are not accurately known, hazing has likely existed for countless generations. Intended to mentally and physically acclimate new members to organizations, this tactic usually backfires, as evidenced by the recent death of Robert Champion on November 19, 2011. There are many types of marching bands, but some of those in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) run a higher risk of hazing susceptibility than those of Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) due to their high-profile status, intense level of competitive spirit, and the intrinsic cultural need for bonding, loyalty, cohesion, brotherhood, and sisterhood. Understanding, addressing, and preventing …

Police Ethnicity And Anomie: Exploring Organizational Adaptation Strategies Among African American Police Officers In Relation To A Socially Constructed Double Consciousness, Warren V. Dukes

Dissertations

The emergence of African American police officers derived from consequences of urban unrests during the 1960' s as a probable resolution to frayed police-community relations in predominately African American communities. African American representativeness in policing was theorized to progress a racially charged police culture that was permeating the police profession. Yet, recent media reports of police involved homicides in Staten Island, New York, Ferguson, Missouri, and Glendale, Arizona have evidenced shortcomings of African American representativeness in shaping police cultures. Since African American police representativeness has come short of its objective of affecting police cultures, what has been the impact of …

Treasures Of Their Truth: Selected Conversations On The Context For Leadership In Southern Malawi, Martin Renee High

Dissertations

Western knowledge of African philosophy, culture, leadership, and pre- and post- colonial history reflects both myths and truths that originate from Western ways of doing research. This ethnographic study (Creswell, 2009; Denzin & Lincoln, 2011; Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007; O'Leary, 2004) seeks to develop an understanding of the context for leadership in Malawi, a Sub-Saharan country. Using the indigenous research paradigm, which is a set of research beliefs or framework (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011) in which the researcher and the researched are connected, knowledge is relational, truth is relational with the universe, and research methodologies are based on indigenous knowledge, …

Impact Of Selected Rodenticides On The Acidic And Enzymatic Coagulation Properties Of Milk, Madhavi H. Hathurusinghe

Dissertations

The early detection of chemical contaminants in milk at the farm level is essential to prevent them entering into the food chain. The overall objective of this study was to determine the effect of selected rodenticides on the acidic and enzymatic coagulation properties of milk by using selected strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and to evaluate the suitability of lactic acid bacteria as a biomarker for early detection of toxins in milk. Specific objectives of this study were (a) to determine the optimum growth temperature for lactic acid bacteria in MRS broth for early detection of rodenticides; (b) to …

Ethic Of Care Leadership Orientation Among Executive Women In The Home Furnishings Industry, Karen Knoch

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to draw on ethic of care leadership orientation to document the perspectives of executive women in the home furnishings industry and the degree to which they are affected by gender difference or otherness from their predominantly male counterparts in the workplace. Three research questions were generated relating to the study's purpose. 1) If women are shaped by society to develop an ethic of care orientation but spend years in organizations that value and reward justice orientation, how does this affect my informants' views of themselves? 2) Do my informants perceive that adapting within a …

Direct And Evolutionary Approaches For Optimal Receiver Function Inversion, Mulugeta Tuji Dugda

Dissertations

Receiver functions are time series obtained by deconvolving vertical component seismograms from radial component seismograms. Receiver functions represent the impulse response of the earth structure beneath a seismic station. Generally, receiver functions consist of a number of seismic phases related to discontinuities in the crust and upper mantle. The relative arrival times of these phases are correlated with the locations of discontinuities as well as the media of seismic wave propagation. The Moho (Mohorovicic discontinuity) is a major interface or discontinuity that separates the crust and the mantle. In this research, automatic techniques to determine the depth of the Moho …

Designing Medical Treatment Protocols To Improve Healthcare Supply Chain Management, Lakausha Tanette Simpson

Dissertations

The primary goal of this research is to determine the strategic system integration opportunities for a segmented healthcare system with cost minimization and efficacy maximization objectives. This research is inspired in part by the Defense Logistics Agency, which is trying to assess the impact of integrating treatment selection processes across service clinicians. Specifically, physician bias, patient volumes, leveraging economies of scale or costing structures, and complex treatment efficacy calculations are considered by mathematically modeling three forms of integration. Multiple objective optimization problems are used to define efficient frontiers based on cost and treatment efficacy. A novel comparative analysis method is …

An Exemplar Woman Leader Of Malawi, Africa: A Narrative Account Of The Honorable Anne Mary Fletcher, Toni Pettiford Bradsher

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the life experiences, spirituality and a sense of community, and cultural values that undergird the leadership praxis of a woman leader from Malawi, Africa. By accounting for the culturally-situated understandings of leadership and leadership practices of an exemplar woman leader of Malawi, Africa, narrative inquiry methodology (Chase, 2011 &, Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) was employed to create an interpretive framework with which to analyze interviews, stories, and field notes through the lens of an endarkened transnational feminist paradigm (Dillard & Okpalaoka, 2011). An endarkened transnational paradigm includes a sacred responsibility to bring …

Understanding The Development Of Global Leadership Competencies, Andrea L. Mcmullen Phd

Dissertations

As businesses seek to gain a competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving global marketplace and in the midst of a global talent shortage, the demand is increasing for guidance surrounding the development of global leaders. Although competency model frameworks have existed since the 1970s, the process of how an organization develops Global Leadership Competencies (GLCs) has not been well documented, particularly in new and evolving industries such as the biosciences. Furthermore, despite the time, effort, and money spent on learning and development or training programs, there are no studies that investigate employer-learner perceptions regarding the alignment of these learning programs …

Sorority Women & Eating Pathology: Communities Of Unhealthy Body Standards?, Ashley Marie Rolnik

Dissertations

The present study examines disordered eating, sorority social norms regarding the body and thinness, personal values regarding the body and thinness, body dissatisfaction, thin ideal internalization, fat talk, negative affect, and positive affect among sorority and non-sorority women. The aims of this study are to discern the underlying factor structures of the sorority/group social norms questionnaires and the personal values regarding the body and thinness questionnaire, investigate disordered eating among sorority and non-sorority women over time, and further examine the impact of social norms on sorority women's body and eating attitudes and behaviors. The results of this research illustrated three …

The Ethics Of Vision And Black Theology And Experience, Angelo Sylvester Riley

Dissertations

To this day, philosophical ethics and dominant discussions in Christian ethics have paid insufficient attention to how vision shapes the moral life. Too much focus is given to moral decision-making and action, while too little focus is given to the way vision and patterns of attentiveness ground our capacities for genuine morally responsible action. Therefore, in this study, I draw on important works in philosophical and Christian ethics to examine both the ethics of responsibility and the central role that an ethics of vision plays in our attempts to live responsibly. I use the "ethics of vision" as method and …

The Role Of Spirituality/Religion As A Coping Mechanism During Treatment For Disordered Eating, David Franczyk

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of spirituality/religion used as a coping mechanism during treatment for disordered eating. Given the mixed outcome results of current therapeutic and pharmacological treatment methods for disordered eating, it is important to investigate other factors which may influence the treatment process. This study evaluated the role of spirituality/religion used as a coping mechanism among 61 patients who were admitted into an eating disorder treatment program and then discharged over a period of 15 months. In this quantitative study, the Brief RCOPE measure was self-administered at admission to determine the levels of …

When Subcultures Become Careers: Working In Indie Rock, Annmarie Schneider-Edman Van Altena

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the careers of workers within the Indie rock industry in Chicago. Little is known about how workers transition from subculture participants to industry workers. Expanding upon research on workers in culture industries, I conducted twenty-six qualitative interviews with workers in the industry, asking open-ended questions about their careers and experiences to understand how they establish and maintain careers in an industry that relies on a particular subculture whose ethos considers financial success as suspect, and a risk to integrity. I show how workers' early interest in music goes beyond typical teenage fascination and becomes the focus of …

Impact Of Gums On The Growth, Viability, And Enzyme Activity Of Lactobacillus Species, Bernice D. Karlton-Senaye

Dissertations

This study investigated the impact of ten selected gums (carrageenan, carrageenan-maltodextrin, guar, locust bean, pectin, pectin- dextrose, pectin-carrageenan, guar-locust bean-carrageenan, inulin, and xanthan) on the growth of eight Lactobacillus strains in laboratory media. The bacterial population for eight Lactobacillus strains was determined in modified basal media at different concentration (0%, 0.25% and 0.5% w/v) of gums stored up to 12 hours at 37 °C. Findings show significant differences (p < 0.05) between the treated and control sample. Guar was found to be the best gum to enhance growth of L. rhamnosus GG B101, L. rhamnosus GG B101, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus SD35, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus SD33, L. acidophilus SD 16, L. acidophilus EF7, L. reuteri DSM20016, L. reuteri CF2-2F during 12 hours of storage at 37 C in laboratory media. The population of L. rhamnosus GGB101 in the samples containing gums were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the control without gums. Samples containing 0.5% gums showed slightly higher bacterial population than those with 0.25% of gum. A minimum of 12 hour of incubation period was shown to be adequate to reach a bacterial population of 6 log CFU/mL in the presence of gums. Addition of guar (0.5%) led to the highest (1.31 log CFU/mL) increase in population of the treated L. rhamnosus GGB101 over the control. There was no marked (p < 0.05) change in pH and titratable acidity. Four different gums (carrageenan, carrageenan-maltodextrin, pectin-carrageenan, guar-locust bean-carrageenan) were selected to determine the effect on the growth, viability and betagalactosidase activity of four selected Lactobacillus strains (L. rhamnosus GG B101, L. rhamnosus GG B101, L. reuteri DSM20016, L. reuteri CF2-2F). Effect of the four selected gums on thegrowth L. rhamnosus GG B101, L. rhamnosus GG B101, L. reuteri DSM20016 in milk were compared to those in modified basal media. Results showed that xanthan induced highest growth of L. rhamnosus GG B103, L. rhamnosus GG B101 in milk whereas carrageenanmaltodextrin led to highest growth of L. reuteri DSM 20016 in the media. Marked differences (p < 0.05) in viability were observed between milk samples containing gums and the control. The presence of carrageenan-maltodextrin led to the highest viable counts (8.76 ± 0.03 log CFU/mL) of L. rhamnosus GGB103 during storage. The average population of L. rhamnosus GGB101 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GGB103 was 8 log CFU/mL, whereas that of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM20016 and Lactobacillus reuteri SD2112 decreased slightly ( 0.15-0.64 log CFU/mL) to 7 log CFU/mL during the storage period. Viable counts were retained at 7-8 log CFU with no significant difference in the control versus treated strains except in the presence of carrageenanmaltodex. Guar-locust bean-carrageenan led to significant (p < 0.05) highest levels of β-gal activity of L. rhamnosus GGB103 (1287 ± 4.24 Miller units/ mL) compared to the control (78 ± 2.83 Miller units/ mL). L. rhamnosus GG B101and L. rhamnosus GG B103 were the best strains to attain enhanced levels of β-galactosidase activity. This shows that the inclusion of carrageenan-maltodextrin and guar-locust bean-carrageenan in milk could improve growth, viability and achieve an enhanced level of β-galactosidase activity in L. rhamnosus GG B101 and L. rhamnosus GG B103. The information gleaned from this study could be used in the food industry to improve the quality of probiotic functional foods and thereby contribute to the alleviation of lactose malabsorption.

Magnetic Properties And Structure Of Iron-Nickel Nanoparticles And Thin Films Synthesized By Pulsed Laser Deposition, Sally Ahmed Ibrahim

Dissertations

The study of new combinations of self-assembled magnetic materials in nanoparticle and thin film form is becoming increasingly important with the continuous shrinking of data storage device size with higher densities. The work presented in this dissertation is focused towards synthesis, structural characterizations, and magnetic properties of an L10 iron-nickel (Fe50Ni50) phase that has a potential to replace noble metals based L10 magnetic materials, such as Ni-Pt, Fe-Pt, being used as recording media. Fe50Ni50 was fabricated using a pulsed laser disposition (PLD) method under various deposition conditions, the most important among which was the substrate temperature. The substrate temperature was …

Effect Of Electrospun Nanofibers On The Short Beam Strength Of Laminated Fiberglass Composite, Dattaji K. Shinde

Dissertations

High specific modulus and strength are the most desirable properties for the material used in structural applications. Composite materials exhibit these properties and over the last decade, their usage has increased significantly, particularly in automotive, defense, and aerospace applications. The major cause of failures in composite laminates is due to delaminations. Delamination in composite laminates can occur due to fatigue, low velocity impact and other loadings modes. Conventional methods like “through-the-thickness stitching” or “Z-Pinning” have limitations for improving flexural and interlaminar properties in woven composites due to the fact that while improving interlaminar properties, the presence of stitches or Z …

Evaluation Of A Conceptual Model Of Student Retention At A Public Urban Commuter University, Hoa Khuong

Dissertations

A new conceptual model of student retention was developed and evaluated for first-year retention and for second-year retention of students at an urban, mid-western commuter university. The model captured the joint effects of academic engagement and environmental factors on academic performance and persistence of commuter students in their first two years of college attendance. The academic engagement and environmental factors incorporated into the model included: pre-college academic achievement, Deep Learning, Study Time per Week, College Math Readiness, Major Selection, Hours of Employment, receiving (or not receiving) a Pell Grant Award and Financial Concerns. Structural equation modeling techniques were utilized to …

Regulation And Targeting Of Fyn In Human Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Sarah Fenton

Dissertations

Fyn, a member of the Src family kinases, is an oncogene in murine epidermis and is associated with cell-cell adhesion turnover and migration. Introduction of active H-Ras(G12V) into the HaCaT human keratinocyte cell line resulted in upregulation of FYN mRNA (200-fold) and protein, but did not increase the expression of other SFKs. We identified two nucleotides 74 bases upstream of the human FYN gene transcription start site as necessary for FYN upregulation in HaCaT-Ras cells. Further studies identified Lef-1 as the transcription factor most likely binding to this site and mediating FYN upregulation.

Transduction of active Ras or Fyn was …

The Role Of Af9 And Af9-Mediated Protein Interactions In Hematopoiesis And Leukemogenesis, Alyson Anne Lokken

Dissertations

The AF9 protein is one of the most common chromosomal translocation partners of the MLL gene in MLL leukemia. Wild-type AF9 is a member of the pTEFb transcription elongation complex, and interacts with gene regulatory proteins such as AF4/AF5q31, DOT1L, Pc3/CBX8 and BCoR. These interactions are retained in the oncogenic MLL-AF9 fusion protein, and may be required for leukemic transformation.

Using bone marrow progenitor cells isolated from conditional Af9 knockout mice, we examined in vitro differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor cells to the erythroid, myeloid and megakaryocytic lineages in the presence or absence of Af9. Based on previously published studies, we …

Dynamics Of Shrub Fires Investigated Via Physics Based Modeling, Ambarish Dahale

Dissertations

A physics based model, capable of predicting fire spread through a multiphase porous media, is formulated and described in detail. The resulting governing equations of fluid dynamics, combustion, heat transfer and thermal degradation of solid fuel, are solved using discrete numerical methods. The burning of an isolated chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) shrub approximately 1 m in height, similar to previously reported experimental study, was investigated using this physics based model. Global quantities including burning time, total mass consumed, time history of mass loss rate and time to reach maximum mass loss rate are found to be in good agreement with experimental …

Computational Optimization Models For Investigating Digital Crime And Intrusion Detection Alarms, Ezhil Selvam Kalaimannan

Dissertations

The Internet is a source of information, communication and entertainment, which makes it impossible for us to imagine a world without being connected. However, there has been a tremendous growth of crimes targeting any form of digital medium. The main objective of this dissertation is to develop and empirically evaluate computational optimization models for investigating digital crime and computer/network intrusion. The first research problem considered in this dissertation relates to the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) in digital forensics. First, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model is proposed to allocate optimal investigation times for evidence, thereby maximizing the overall effectiveness …

Collaborative Leadership Roles In The Implementation Of Adventist Health Lifestyle: A Case Study Of The Chinese Union Mission, James Wu

Dissertations

Problem

Little is known about the roles of the institutional leader’s role in the collaborative implementation of the Adventist health lifestyle programs of the Chinese Union Mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Such an understanding would provide clues regarding how collaborative leadership and the implementation of Adventist lifestyle programs meet the challenge of non-communicable diseases. According to the World Health Organization report, about 36 million people died in 2008 of non-communicable diseases, and the trend continues upward. Evidence-based research, such as the China Study and the Adventist Health Studies, provides a strong support for the …

The Relationship Of Family, Church, School, Peers, Media, And Adventist Culture To The Religiosity Of Adventist Youth In Puerto Rico, Edwin P. Alicea Santiago

Dissertations

Problem. No formal study that considers the influence of the family, church, school, peers, media, and Adventist culture on the denominational loyalty, Christian commitment, and religious behavior of Adventist young people of Puerto Rico has previously been conducted. Therefore, pastors, parents, teachers, church leaders, and administrators have no data on which to base their assessment of the religiosity of Adventist young people.

Method. This study used youth ages 14 to 21 from the youth sample of the Avance PR study conducted in 1995 in Adventist schools and churches in Puerto Rico. For the analysis, the sample was divided. When studying …

Relationship Between Involvement In Institutional Activities And Christian Life Commitment Among Undergraduate Students Of A Christian University In Mexico, Esteban Quiyono

Dissertations

Problem

A considerable gap in knowledge exists regarding religious commitment among young people in Mexican Christian colleges, where many institutional resources are invested to foster such commitment. This study attempted to identify the extent to which Christian commitments of undergraduate students in a Mexican Christian university are related to their involvement in institutional activities, influential agents, and selected demographic variables (gender, grade level, place of residence, and field of study).

Method

A descriptive cross-sectional and correlational design was conducted using survey research methodology with a stratified sample of 332 undergraduate students enrolled during the fall term of the 2002-2003 college …