Digital Commons Network^™

Bacterial Source Tracking In The Sinking Creek Watershed Using Antibiotic Resistance Analysis And Ribotyping., Lisa Kathleen Gallagher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fecal pollution of surface water is a significant environmental health issue. Indicator organisms are used to monitor microbial water quality, but often their presence does not coincide with the presence of pathogens. Bacterial source tracking is a term describing methods to determine the origin of fecal pollution based on bacterial traits. The objective of this research is to evaluate the use of 2 bacterial source tracking techniques, antibiotic resistance analysis (ARA) and ribotyping, to determine the sources of bacteria isolated from Sinking Creek. Based on the results of this study, ARA and ribotyping are not useful techniques for identifying sources …

Antigen Trafficking Within Chlamydia Trachomatis-Infected Polarized Human Endometrial Epithelial Cells., David Kelley Giles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chlamydia trachomatis serovars D-K are the leading cause of bacterially-acquired sexually transmitted infections in the United States. As an obligate intracellular pathogen, C. trachomatis infects columnar epithelial cells of the genital mucosae and can cause deleterious sequelae such as pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. Several chlamydial antigens reach the host cell cytosol prior to the natural release of chlamydiae at the end of the developmental cycle. While some of these extra-inclusion antigens traffic to the host cell surface, others remain intracellular where they are proposed to influence vital host cell functions and antigen trafficking and presentation. The research …

Gifted Education In Northeast Tennessee Public Schools: A Descriptive Study., Kathryn Ann Ross-Sisco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine gifted education programs in public schools in Northeast Tennessee. There is a wide disparity among established gifted programs regarding the identification of the students, the eligibility of the students, and the services they receive. This disparity has led to varying levels of support and service for gifted children in Northeast Tennessee. A survey was developed and distributed to individuals who oversee the gifted department in their school system. Data were collected regarding gifted student identification processes, individual program requirements, funding of gifted programs, professional development, and advanced teacher training.

National research has …

Generative Response., Catherine Juanita Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Within this supporting paper, the artist discusses Generative Response, her Master of Fine Arts exhibition. This paper is a narrative of the artist's development, philosophies, and methodologies. Further, it illustrates how her work and development have been affected by studies in humanity, social activism, human responsibility, and environmental consciousness.

Generative Response communicated the artist's ideology of process as metaphor for living life, involving the viewer in an "unfinished dialogue" wherein works of art undergo processes translating their role as part of a generative cycle. Generative Response was composed of seven sculptural components called "stations" depicting the processes of growth, …

One, And The Same., Daniel Marinelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis supports the Master of Fine Arts exhibition at the B. Carroll Reece Museum, East Tennessee State University, from March 18^th through May 1^{st, 2008. The exhibition is comprised of fourteen sculptures, which are presented on pedestals or mounted on the wall. The exhibition presents the artist's experimentation and exploration into a variety of different materials, namely wood, steel, paper, linen thread, and milk paint. Topics discussed are the influences, techniques, and methods directly relating to the work. Included are preliminary and detail images as well as a complete catalogue of the thesis exhibit.}

Improving Screening For Externalizing Behavior Problems In Very Young Children : Applications Of Item Response Theory To Evaluate Instruments In Pediatric Primary Care., Christina Ruth Studts 1971-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Externalizing behavior problems in very young children are associated with an array of negative and costly long-term outcomes. Pediatric primary care is a promising venue for implementing screening practices to improve early identification of this social and public health problem. In this setting, screening requires a brief, easily scored instrument which can detect sub-clinical to clinical levels of the latent construct within the context of early childhood development. Further, items used should perform consistently with children of all sociodemographic backgrounds. This study applied item response theory analyses to investigate the precision, utility, and differential item functioning (DIF) of items measuring …

Lipid Aldehydes Are Substrates And Transcriptional Regulators Of Cytochromes P450., Immaculate Amunom

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) and propene-2-al (acrolein) are highly reactive á,â-unsaturated aldehydes. 4-HNE and acrolein are generated in vivo as products of lipid peroxidation. These aldehydes are implicated in the onset of several diseases including atherosclerosis and neurodegenerative disease. They also react with nucleophilic cellular macromolecules including proteins, DNA and phospholipids. Some of these reactions in vivo lead to inhibition of enzyme activities, depletion of glutathione and oxidative stress. Because of their pathophysiological relevance, attention has focused during the last decade on the ability of mammals to metabolize these lipid aldehydes. The purpose of this study was therefore to determine the role …

Reliability And Validity Of Ems Dispatch Code-Based Categorization Of Emergency Patients For Syndromic Surveillance., Matthew Raymond Groenewold

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A retrospective study involving the secondary analysis of public health surveillance records was undertaken to characterize the reliability and validity of an EMS dispatch data-based scheme for assigning emergency patients to surveillance syndromes in relation to two other schemes, one based on hospital ED clinicians' manual categorization according to patients' chief complaint and clinical presentation, and one based on ICD-9 coded hospital ED diagnoses. Comparisons of a sample of individual emergency patients' syndrome assignments according to the EMS versus each of the two hospital categorization schemes were made by matching EMS run records to their corresponding emergency department patient encounter …

Chemical Signals As A Means Of Determining Health Status And Selecting Mates In Humans., Amy M. Cavanaugh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of my dissertation research was to determine the role of chemical signals in conveying information regarding an individual's health status and suitability as a mate in humans and to examine the role that commensal microflora play in this system. Chemical signals in humans have been theorized to play a role in disassortative mating relative to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and in selection of mates based on fluctuating asymmetry. In addition, chemical signals have been shown to communicate health status in rodents. Commensal microflora are a necessary component of such chemical signaling systems since it is the microflora …

Drawing As An Investigation Of Perception., Nicholas Croghan 1981-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My recent work juxtaposes dualities such as natural/artificial, macro/micro, instantaneous/changing, and conscious/unconscious. As a process oriented artist, I enjoy creating tactile, illusionistic surfaces by building translucent layers through calligraphic gestures. This includes drawings on stone, mushrooms, wood panel, and paper using silverpoint, copperpoint, prismacolor, acrylic, ink, watercolor, graphite, charcoal, tusche, clay, eggshells, coffee, and tea. From afar, the background washes appear random and chaotic, but as one approaches intricate details engage the curious in multiple surprises. The silverpoint, which will tarnish and darken over time, is most evident against the white gesso ground as synthesized forms representing images the viewer …

Examining The Effects Of A Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics Awareness Workshop On The Environmental Attitudes And Knowledge Of Undergraduate Students, Timothy T. Williamson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The philosophy of Leave No Trace (LNT) has been a component of outdoor ethics education since the late 1970s. LNT is an education program designed to teach stewardship, land ethics and outdoor recreation skills that protect shared resources. The LNT Awareness Workshop is a 30-minute intervention which is designed to introduce these ideas within these time constraints to diverse populations. This study examined the effects of the Workshop presentation on university undergraduate students as it concerned their attitudes and knowledge of outdoor ethics and LNT. A pre-posttest control group design was implemented with two control groups and two experimental groups. …

Timelessness Undone : Culture, Agriculture, And The Narrative Of Ecological Decline In Faulkner's Fiction, Deighton Zerby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Ordinary Madness, Jill Criswell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ordinary Madness: A Memoir is an exploration of the chaotic trials and tribulations of growing up, of the sensitive, overly-imaginative child I was, trying to navigate her way through a world full of people who didn't seem to understand her, including unsympathetic adults, merciless playmates, and confused relatives. Set in the tiny farming town of Palatka, Florida, and spanning from early childhood memories to adolescence, the memoir delves into the realm of tragicomic youthful experiences with dead pets, bathroom graffiti, mock crucifixions, and other strange mishaps. The prose of Ordinary Madness is inspired by the small-town innocence of Haven Kimmel, …

Prostasin Is Expressed In Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia And Regulates Cell Proliferation And Invasion Via Inos, Icam-1, And Cycli, Meghan Hatfield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prostasin is expressed in normal prostate epithelial cells but down-regulated in prostate cancers, while prostasin re-expression in invasive prostate cancer cells reduced invasion. We examined prostasin expression and function in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). We evaluated prostasin expression in 12 BPH specimens by immunohistochemistry, and evaluated the impact of prostasin silencing by siRNA on the expression of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and cyclin D1, as well as on cell proliferation and invasion, using the BPH-1 human prostate epithelial cell line model. Prostasin expression was localized in the glands of BPH tissues by immunohistochemistry, in …

Role Of Transient Receptor Potential Canonical-6 (Trpc6) Channel In Metastasis Of Glioblastoma Multiforme, Rajarajeshwari Venkataraman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the extremely fatal brain tumors. The main reason that makes it so lethal is its capability to invade and spread to other parts of CNS producing secondary tumors. Among other factors hypoxia, reduced oxygen availability, is linked to higher metastatic potential of cancers. Hypoxia causes numerous changes in genome and proteome of the cell. These changes help a normal cell to adapt to nutritional deficiency, but the same changes can increase the malignancy and metastasis in tumor cells. Extensive research by a number of curious scientists reveal that various pathways involving numerous proteins cross-talk …

Evaluation Of The Efficacy Of Chloroplast-Derived Antigensagainst Malaria, Melissa Schreiber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Malaria is the most prevalent vector-borne parasitic disease worldwide and a major cause of death from infections. There is a great need to develop a low cost vaccine for malaria to control transmission of infection and impact of disease, due to the emergence of anti-malarial resistance. Two leading blood stage malarial vaccine candidates are the apical membrane antigen-1 (AMA-1) and the merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1). The aim of this project is to express malarial antigens in tobacco plants via plastid transformation and deliver them by subcutaneous or oral gavage of minimally processed transplastomic tissue to evaluate their efficacy to elicit …

The Eight-Dollar Bill, Wendy Stiles-Tardieu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"The Eight-Dollar Bill" is a collection of tales that explores human isolation and displacement accented by the backdrop of magic and mystery. The characters are often cynical and disenchanted while harboring deeply suppressed longings. They are guided by strange events and circumstances that ultimately transform their world-views. Each story provides a window into an ordinary life at the moment it slips into the extraordinary. The common thread of loneliness and loss runs throughout the collection, explored with multiple points of view and interconnected plots that link characters and places. The title story follows a divorced, detached banker who is jolted …

Five Kingdoms, Kelle Groom

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Five Kingdoms. (Under the direction of Don Stap.) Five Kingdoms is a collection of 55 poems in three sections. The title refers to the five kingdoms of life, encompassing every living thing. Section I explores political themes and addresses subjects that reach across a broad expanse of time--from the oldest bones of a child and the oldest map of the world to the bombing of Fallujah in the current Iraq war. Connections between physical and metaphysical worlds are examined. The focus narrows from the world to the city in section II. The theme of shelter is important to these poems, …

Generation Of Recombinant Mouse Embryonic Stem Cell Lines And Theirapplication For In Vivo Bioluminiscence Imaging In The Heart, Ramana Kammili

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of death in the United States, with 80 million people suffering from some form of heart disease each year. One major limitation is the inability of the heart to repair the damaged tissue. Stem cell therapy holds enormous promise to repair and regenerate the damaged myocardium, but there are many technical difficulties that must first be overcome. One such difficulty is the present lack of ability to track and assess transplanted stem cells over time in vivo. The central hypothesis of this thesis is that in vivo bioluminescence imaging is a safe and useful …

Standing In The Shadows, Jason Haffner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Standing in the Shadows is a collection of short-stories that showcases the inner workings of the modern American family. Each of these six stories examines families, in one capacity or another, dealing with ups and downs, love and hatred, sadness and happiness, and everything in between. At the heart of these stories are the relationships between people, some affected by sadness and tragedy, others torn apart by secrets, all trying to cope and exist in a world full of conflict and difficulties. The characters in this selection deal with shortcomings--shortcomings of others and of themselves--while forced to overcome obstacles in …

Perceptions Of Reality, Matthew Dombrowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis explores the relationship between the human psyche and the perception of reality through the use of computer generated media. In a society in which we are bombarded with multimedia technology, we must look inside our selves for a true understanding of our past and memories. Rather than it acting as an escape from reality, my art becomes an opening for truth in reality.

Pitiful Creatures, Shaun Wightman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

By focusing on character, humor, and loose narrative, I create a world full of quirky, pitiful creatures that blur the lines between illustration and "Fine Art". Inspired by golden age cartoons, Pop-Surrealism, and late 50's commercial art, I make work that speaks of the awkwardness of human emotion while keeping a "tongue in cheek" attitude about everyday life. This work is expressed through illustration, animation, sculpture, and a lot of sarcasm.

Journey, Suzann Martinsen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In my drawings and animation, I create a representation of a culture that is instilled in me, yet foreign. The work is inspired from a childlike perspective to depict a personal primitive experience with the Korean culture. The subtleties of the animations are meant to reflect the quiet nature of Asian paintings and to allow the viewer to experience and interpret it as they choose. I want others to see without hearing words in an already noisy world.

Purinergic Receptors In The Circumvallate Papillae Of Rats, Alana Marselle Montoya

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

P2X2 receptors and P2Y4 receptors are ATP-activated cell surface receptors that gate movement of K+, Na+, and Ca2+. We used immunocytochemistry for P2X2 and P2Y4 receptors as well as taste cell type markers to learn if P2X2 immunoreactivity (IR) is present in nerve processes in close apposition to Type II and/or Type III taste cells. We also tested to see if P2Y4 IR is present in Type II and/or Type III taste cells. Our results indicate that P2X2 is present only in intragemmal nerve processes. P2X2-LIR nerve processes form close contacts with Type II and Type III taste cells. P2Y4 …

Organizational Conflict Within The Department Of Homeland Security, M. Katherine Manderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to explain why the Department of Homeland Security had difficulty fulfilling its roles when it was formed, specifically its role as grant administrator. Role theory surmises that conflict arises from unclear expectations, conflicting expectations, and too many roles. This study utilized various public testimonies, legislation, and other government documents to examine how the missions of the twenty-two agencies that were merged together to make up DHS changed. Even though DHS has changed continually over the five years since its existence most employees seem to be clear on the mission of the organization in which they work. However, …

Use Of Cooperative Learning And Computer Assisted Instruction To Investigate Mathematics Achievement Scores, Student's Attitude Toward Cooperative Learning And Confidence In Subject Matter, Kathy R. Griffin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated mathematics achievement scores between students working in cooperative learning groups using computer assisted instruction (CAI), and students working alone using CAI in a post-secondary developmental mathematics class. Fifty-one students enrolled in a basic mathematics course participated in the study. Two classes were assigned to work alone using CAI, and two classes were assigned to work in cooperative pairs using CAI. This study was a pre-post-test design, and was administered to all participants to determine their mathematics achievement scores.

A survey using a 5 point Likert Scale further examined if using cooperative learning and CAI would change students' …

Maria Schneider's "Hang Gliding": Dual Analyses For A Hybrid Musical Style, Elizabeth Mckinney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The 21st century has brought about the transmission of ideas across the world due to the globalization of communication. As such, musicians are influenced by different styles of music from all around the world due to their own travels and the availability of music recordings. This thesis deals with the challenges of analyzing modern music that has been influenced by different genres and therefore does not fit into one preconceived genre of music. Maria Schneider's piece "Hang Gliding" integrates influences of classical, jazz, and Brazilian music. After a discussion of these influences upon her work and her transgression of the …

Working Memory Deficits In Children: Contributions Of Executive Control Processes And Symptoms Of Adhd, Stacie Leffard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The most empirically supported model of working memory contains four components: (a) the phonological loop, (b) the visuospatial sketchpad, (c) the episodic buffer, and (d) the central executive (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974; Baddeley, 2003). The central executive has been fractionated into four subprocesses: (a) sustained attention, (b) selective attention/inhibition (c) shifting attention, and (d) control of retrieval from long-term memory (Baddeley, 2003; Mirsky et al., 1991; Zoelch et al., 2005). Children with ADHD are known to have working memory deficits, though the role of each component of the working memory system in these deficits is not known. The purpose of …

Acidification And Stress Physiology In A Plethodontid Salamander, Desmognathus Ochrophaeus, Lauren Ricciardella

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In western Pennsylvania, chronically and episodically acidified stream habitats are common. The mountain dusky salamander, Desmognathus ochrophaeus, is an abundant species that is associated with acidified streams. The focus of this research was to (1) examine the effects of acidified habitats on the stress hormone, corticosterone, and (2) examine the effects of corticosterone on behavior. In an acidified stream site, males had a blunted corticosterone stress response after capture and handling compared to an acid neutral site. There was a trend for elevated corticosterone to inhibit several aspects of male mating behavior, including insemination of females. These data suggest that …

Detecting Curved Objects Against Cluttered Backgrounds, Jan Prokaj

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Detecting curved objects against cluttered backgrounds is a hard problem in computer vision. We present new low-level and mid-level features to function in these environments. The low-level features are fast to compute, because they employ an integral image approach, which makes them especially useful in real-time applications. The mid-level features are built from low-level features, and are optimized for curved object detection. The usefulness of these features is tested by designing an object detection algorithm using these features. Object detection is accomplished by transforming the mid-level features into weak classifiers, which then produce a strong classifier using AdaBoost. The resulting …