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A Transition Program: Students' Experiences And Perspectives, Donna Marie Burns

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this study was to investigate student perceptions of participation in a transition program the summer before their ninth grade year. Studies have shown that students who have an unsuccessful transition from middle school to high school are more likely to fail ninth grade, which may ultimately lead to dropping out of high school. However, the implementation of a transition program may help ease this transition and provide the student with the tools necessary to acclimate to the changes of the high school and be successful.

A purposive sample was comprised of eight students who participated in the …

Encountering Eucharistic Presence Within A Postmodern Context: A Dialogue Among Chauvet, Schmemann And Zizioulas, Jason Gary Delvitto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Churches, as well as other Christian communities, are faced with the challenges of postmodern thought, which calls into question some of the foundational theological and philosophical constructs through which Christianity has articulated the mystery of Eucharistic presence. Louis-Marie Chauvet, Alexander Schmemann and John Zizioulas, the interlocutors presented in this dissertation, recognize that for centuries, Eucharistic theology has been shaped within a metaphysical/Scholastic framework which confines, in many respects, the experiential/relational aspects of the divine/human dynamic as mediated in the Eucharistic celebration. An appeal for a paradigmatic shift is made evident in their respective works …

Analysis Strategies For Bioactive, Polar Fatty Amides In Complex Samples, Erin Blaine Divito

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bioactive lipids are known to exert physiological effects and interact with neuroreceptors. Little is known about the bioregulation of primary fatty acid amides, though N-acyl glycines are thought to be their anabolic precursors. Chapter 1 details the current metabolic, physiological, and receptor interactions of primary fatty acid amides and their related congeners and reviews current strategies for isolation and detection. Chapter 2 outlines mass spectrometry collision induced fragmentation assignments pertaining to method development of multiple reaction monitoring detection of these species. Chromatographic separation methods of fatty acyls, with a focus on primary fatty acid amides and N-acyl glycines, are outlined …

Methylation Patterns And Phenotypes Of The R-Stippled Derivatives Lines, Kara D. Dragone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Paramutation occurs between trans-alleles with homologous sequences resulting in a heritable change in gene expression, where epigenetic information from one allele is passed to the other. In maize, the paramutagenic r1 allele, R-stippled, silences the paramutable allele, R-r:standard, following paramutation. The R-r:standard allele is known to show increased methylation following paramutation. The R-stippled allele, which is composed of the four genes, Sc, Nc1, Nc2 and Nc3, becomes less paramutagenic as genes are lost. Sc alone is not paramutagenic. I hypothesized that the R-stippled derivative containing two genes would be less methylated at cytosine residues than the four-copy allele, particularly in …

The Collaborative Problem-Solving Approach With Traumatized Children: Its Effectiveness In The Reduction Of Locked Seclusion In An Inpatient Psychiatric Setting, Halana M. Finnie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aggressive or explosive behaviors in children typically occur within the context of a variety of psychiatric diagnoses and pose additional challenges when children present with histories of abuse. These behaviors are often interpreted as deliberate or noncompliant and management of these extreme behaviors often results in locked seclusion in most inpatient psychiatric settings. Locked seclusion remains controversial at best and raises legal and ethical issues regarding its safe and therapeutic use.

This retrospective quantitative study evaluated the effectiveness of the Collaborative Problem-Solving (CPS) approach as a less restrictive behavioral intervention on an inpatient child psychiatric unit with children ages 5-12 …

Stunted Growth: Institutional Challenges To The Department Of Homeland Security's Maturation, Dana James Fronczak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Scholars have proposed numerous explanations as to why the Department of Homeland Security has struggled to mature as an organization and effectively conduct its core mission. We propose an alternative viewpoint that the department lacks key legal authorities and necessitates key organizational transfer in order to rationalize its portfolio. We examine these points through review of legal authorities in select mission areas and through a resource analysis of activities conducted throughout the federal government to execute the homeland security mission. The analysis leads to specific recommendations for transfers and authorities and suggestions as to how the political environment might coalesce …

Characterization Of An Evolving Serotonin Transporter Computational Model, Laura Marie Geffert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A major obstacle for developing new antidepressants has been limited knowledge of the structure and function of a central target, the serotonin transporter (SERT). Established SERT inhibitors (SSRIs) were docked to an in silico SERT model to identify likely binding pocket amino acid residues. When mutated singly, no one of five implicated residues was critical for high affinity in vitro binding of SSRIs or cocaine. The in silico SERT model was used in ligand virtual screening (VS) of a small molecule structural library. Selected VS "hit" compounds were procured and tested in vitro; encouragingly, two compounds with novel structural scaffolds …

Humanlife And The Advent Of Philosophy: A Theory Of Philosophical Autobiography, David Frank Hoinski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a theory of philosophical autobiography. It includes studies of the autobiographical writings of Plato, Augustine, Descartes, Vico, and Nietzsche. I argue that philosophers write autobiographies in order to present and give an account of philosophical first principles. I also argue that Plato invented philosophical autobiography.

Isolation And Characterization Of Bacillus Firmus Strain Swpa-1 From Marcellus Shale Flowback Water, Samir N. Joshi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Flowback water generated during unconventional natural gas extraction in the Marcellus Shale contains elevated levels of total dissolved solids (TDS). Microbial growth is stimulated in these fluids during storage in open impoundments. The current study was conducted to isolate a strain from flowback water enrichment cultures and characterize it. An isolate was obtained by plate streaking and serial dilution methods and maintained on a nutrient broth with high TDS. Phylogenetic analysis using the 16S rRNA sequence revealed that bacterium was most closely related to Bacillus firmus<<<<<

Guarantee Of Children's Well-Being Through Development Of An Effective Family Strengthening System In The Republic Of Kazakhstan, Gulnaz Batyrbaevna Kelekeyeva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2012, 10,887 children resided in state-run residential care institutions in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Out of them, more than 80 percent were children whose parents were alive and known to the authorities, but who have been deprived of parental rights. Institutionalization negatively impacts children's health and development. These children are often subjected to violence, child trafficking, and most of them leave formal care without the skills needed to begin an independent life. The current report provides evidence and proof of the necessity for reforming the national child protection and family strengthening system so as it would be capable to …

Optimal Control Applied To A Mathematical Model For Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci, Jonathan Lowden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Enterococci bacteria that cannot be treated effectively with the antibiotic vancomycin are termed Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE). In this thesis, we develop a mathematical framework for determining optimal strategies for prevention and treatment of VRE in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). A system of ve ordinary differential equations describes the movement of ICU patients in and out of different states related to VRE infection. Two control variables representing the prevention and treatment of VRE are incorporated into the system. An optimal control problem is formulated to minimize the VRE-related deaths and costs associated with controls over a nite time period. Pontryagin's …

Age-Related Effects On The Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase And Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Pathways In Breast Cancer And The Characterization Of Novel Mek5 Inhibitors, Darlene A. Monlish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Age remains the most common demographic risk factor in breast cancer. The underlying cellular signaling mechanisms responsible for the age-associated rise in disease incidence have not yet been determined. Studies presented herein aim to elucidate age-related changes in the extracellular signal-regulated kinases, ERK1/2 and ERK5, of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, and in the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt (PI3K/Akt) pathway. Further, the role of the MEK5-ERK5 cascade in breast cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion was analyzed. In addition, several series of novel MEK5 inhibitors were characterized with regard to both efficacy and selectivity. In vitro assessment revealed distinct patterns of …

Metalated Nitriles: Ligand Exchange And Copper-Catalyzed Reactions, Dinesh Nath

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes new methods of carbon-carbon bond formation using metalated nitriles generated via metal exchange reactions. Sulfinylnitriles undergo a sulfinyl-metal exchange to yield lithiated, magnesiated and zincated nitriles, which can trap a range of electrophiles. The sulfinyl-metal exchange is effective with vinylic, quaternary and tertiary substitution patterns and addresses the long-standing problem of alkylating secondary nitriles. This method was then further extended to other oxidation states of sulfur, namely sulfonyl-metal exchange and relatively unknown sulfide-metal exchange. The sulfide metal exchange overcomes the problem related to the propensity of highly substituted sulfinylnitriles to eliminate. Sulfide-metal exchange is synthetically attractive because …

Structural Driving Factors For The Coupled Electron And Proton Transfer Reactions In Mitochondrial Cytochrome Bc1 Complex: Binding Geometries Of Substrates And Protonation States Of Ionizable Amino Acid Side Chains Near Qi And Qo Sites, Bao Linh Tran Nguyen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coupled electron and proton transfer (CEPT) events are fundamental for many bioenergetic conversions that involve redox reactions. Understanding the details underlying CEPT processes will advance our knowledge of (1) how nature regulates energy conversion; (2) our strategies for achieving renewable energy sources; (3) how to cope with CEPT dysfunction diseases. Studies of the detailed mechanism(s) of CEPT in biological systems is challenging due to their complex nature. Consequently, controversies between the concerted and sequential mechanism of CEPT for many systems remain. This dissertation focuses on the bovine mitochondrial cytochrome bc1 complex. CEPT in the bc1 complex operates by a modified …

Teachers' Ability To Identify Anxiety In The Classroom And Generate Related Interventions, Susan Jane Oliverio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The negative impact of test anxiety has been well documented in the literature with empirical studies demonstrating the existence of a negative relationship between test anxiety and academic performance (Schwarzer, 1990; Seipp, 1991). In 1967, test anxiety was determined to be a problem for 10% of school aged children (Klondas). A decade later, studies suggested this rate was closer to 25 or 30% (Nottelmann & Hill, 1977). In a study of a Pittsburgh area school district, Beidel (1991) found clinically significant Test Anxiety Scale for Children (TASC) scores in 34% of students in a suburban school district that is predominantly …

Little Sewickley Creek: The Redesignation Process Of A High Quality Stream To An Exceptional Value Stream, Nathan Todd Reinhart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has set designated uses for all of the 83,000 miles of waterways based on their quality. Only the highest quality streams are afforded the highest protection with a High Quality (HQ) or Exceptional Value (EV). Little Sewickley Creek is designated as a High Quality-Trout Stocking Fishery and may warrant redesignation as an Exceptional Value waterway. The aim of the study was to provide technical data on the stream to support an EV reclassification. The report has compiled previous data and collected new data in order to file a formal petition to the PA DEP. …

Molecular Insights Into The Distinct Mechanisms Regulating The Tlr4 Mediated Activation, Shut Down, And Endotoxin Tolerance Of The Il1b And Tnf Genes, Juraj Adamik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The first wave of the inducible gene network up-regulated by pathogen-stimulated mononuclear cells encodes a variety of effector proteins with pleitropic biological activities. This class of primary immediate early (IE) genes codes for potent pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines that play a prominent role during the manifestation of inflammatory response. In an attempt to better understand induction mechanisms for such genes, I have focused on those coding for human interleukin-1? (IL1B) and tumor necrosis factor ? (TNF), which exhibit both transient IE induction as well as cell-type restriction. Employing a combined approach using cell lines and primary cells, reporter transient transfection, …

A Room Of One's Own, Revisited: An Existential-Hermeneutic Study Of Female Solitude, Karin Arndt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study presents an existential-hermeneutic analysis of nine women's first-person accounts of extended periods of solitude. The accounts were analyzed along the five existential dimensions of spatiality, temporality, embodiment, language, and co-existentiality, producing a rich portrait of the women's lived experience of solitude. One of the first-person accounts was provided by the author of the study, who underwent three solitary retreats in the interest of this project, adding an autoethnographic component to the work. Theory from the existential-phenomenological, monastic, ecopsychological, and feminist literatures was applied to the data, enabling us to interpret the significance of the shifts the women experienced …

Relational Aggression, Social Aggression, And Antisocial Personality Features: An Investigation Of Bullying Behavior In A Sample Of Juvenile Offenders, George Ronald Bell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bullying is a destructive subtype of aggression that can take direct and indirect forms. This study investigated relationships between two indirect forms of bullying (relational aggression and social aggression), the aggressor's level of interpersonal maturity, and antisocial personality features (narcissism and callous-unemotional traits). Participants included 58 male and 21 female offenders between the ages of 13 and 18 from an urban school serving youth who were adjudicated through the juvenile justice system. Data were obtained from a de-identified data set that contained responses to questions from three self-report rating scales: the Young Adult Social Behavior Scale (YASB), the Antisocial Process …

Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein: Self-Regulation And Mirna Pathway Involvement, Anna Blice-Baum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fragile X syndrome, the most common form of inherited mental impairment in humans, affects 1 of 4000 males and 1 of 8000 females. It is caused by the absence of the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), resulting from a CGG trinucleotide repeat expansion in the 5'-untranslated region (UTR) of the fragile x mental retardation-1 (FMR1) gene, and subsequent translational silencing of FMRP. FMRP, a proposed translational regulator of neuronal messenger RNA (mRNA) targets, has three RNA binding domains: two K-homology domains (KH1 and KH2) and one arginine-glycine-glycine (RGG) box domain. FMRP RGG box has been shown to bind with …

Classical Antifolates: Synthesis Of 5-Substituted, 6-Substituted And 7-Substituted Pyrrolo[2,3-D]Pyrimidines As Targeted Anticancer Therapies, Yiqiang Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation comprises an introduction, background and current research progress in the area of classical antifolates as the targeted anticancer therapies.

In this study, twelve series of classical 5-, 6- and 7-substituted pyrrolo[2, 3-d]pyrimidines were designed and synthesized. Extensive structure modifications of the pyrrolo[2, 3-d] pyrimidine scaffold were investigated to determine selective transport via FR or/and PCFT and tumor targeted antifolates with GARFTase or multiple folate metabolizing enzyme inhibition.

The design strategies employed include: variation of the side chain substitution position (5-, 6- and 7-substituted); variation of the side chain length (n=1-6); isosteric replacement of the 1, 4-disubstituted phenyl ring …

Somali Immigrant Perceptions Of Mental Health And Illness: An Ethnonursing Study, Kimberly Michelle Wolf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative ethnonursing research study was to explore, discover, and understand the mental health meanings, beliefs, and practices from the perspective of immigrant Somalis living in the United States. Leininger's Culture Care Diversity and Universality Theory, ethnonursing method, and ethnonursing enablers were utilized as organizing frameworks for studying the domain of inquiry. Interviews were conducted with 21 general informants and 9 key informants, all of whom were Somali immigrants living in Minnesota. Utilizing the ethnonursing data analysis enabler, analysis of the interviews revealed 21 categories and 9 patterns from which two main themes emerged. The themes were …

Biomechanical Comparison Of Lower Limb Unloading Between Common Modalities Of Ankle Foot Orthoses, Andrea Blake Wanamaker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tibial stress fractures and other lower extremity injuries can be treated using an ankle foot orthosis (AFO). AFOs are popular because they allow the patient to ambulate somewhat naturally while reducing weight bearing on the injured limb. Despite their popularity, it is currently unclear how well AFOs reduce lower extremity weight bearing.

The first objective of this investigation was to examine the ability of three commonly used ankle foot orthoses to reduce weight bearing within the lower limb by comparing the ground reaction force measured from a force platform to the force measured from an insole pressure measurement device inside …

Skin Cancer Knowledge, Beliefs, Self-Efficacy, And Preventative Behaviors Among North Mississippi Landscapers, Vinayak Kumar Nahar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Skin cancer is a significant public health problem in the US. Each year over 3.5 million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in more than two million individuals, resulting in nearly 12,000 deaths (American Cancer Society, 2012). Many studies have been conducted on outdoor workers to assess quantitative data of exposure and protection behaviors, with the majority of studies carried out on farmers, construction workers, and postal workers (Saraiya et al., 2004). Nonetheless, far too little attention has been given to members of other occupational groups who mainly work outdoors, such as landscapers. It was estimated in the US that …

Plants And Animals As Saviors And Invaders: Changing Perspectives On Invasive Species From The Colonial Era To The 21st Century, Meghan Leann Holmes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human beings integrate their environment into their group identities. Familiar plants and animals become associated with cultural memories through food, music, and everyday interaction. When species enter a new environment and change the composition of species within a space these plants and animals challenge assumptions of cultural unity and national and regional identities. In the Colonial era European arrivals brought plants and animals for economic and aesthetic purposes to maintain cultural traditions and environmental familiarity. This practice changed following the rise of nationalism in the late 19 th century. Americans continued to grow crops and raise livestock from other countries …

Phylogeography Of The Malagasy Ant Species Otontomachus Coquereli, Jason Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Madagascar is an extremely diverse and geographically complex area boasting levels of endemism that blatantly raise questions about their origins. There is evidence that these endemics arose via insitu diversification during Madagascar's ~88 million year isolation, even though it was essentially in the middle of Gondwana with ample opportunity to acquire inhabitants. Madagascar's high levels of diversity and endemism make it an ideal location to study speciation, especially considering the evidence that such high levels speciation occurred in Madagascar itself. Several hypotheses have been formulated to relate the complex geography to genetic divergence, and thereby speciation. I explore three hypotheses …

Enhanced Pvdf Film For Multi Energy Harvesting, Ranmunige Nadeeka Karunarathna

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Historical Study Of Irvin Cooper: Choral Music Educator And Founder Of The Cambiata Concept, Phillip Holland Stockton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Military officers and psychologists have argued that the human experience of killing in combat is directly related to physical proximity between combatants. With the advent of remote controlled weapons and advanced optics, that argument has proven untrue. This thesis, through analysis of contemporary war literature and film, proposes that a better paradigm for understanding and anticipating the human experience of killing in combat is the view the soldier maintains of him/herself and of the other as similarly human. The contemporary soldier may view both the enemy and him/herself as human, subhuman, or inhuman; this view is closely tied to constructed …

Autonomous Recovery Of Reconfigurable Logic Devices Using Priority Escalation Of Slack, Naveed Imran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices offer a suitable platform for survivable hardware architectures in mission-critical systems. In this dissertation, active dynamic redundancy-based fault-handling techniques are proposed which exploit the dynamic partial reconfiguration capability of SRAM-based FPGAs. Self-adaptation is realized by employing reconfiguration in detection, diagnosis, and recovery phases. To extend these concepts to semiconductor aging and process variation in the deep submicron era, resilient adaptable processing systems are sought to maintain quality and throughput requirements despite the vulnerabilities of the underlying computational devices. A new approach to autonomous fault-handling which addresses these goals is developed using only a uniplex …

The Afro-American Slave Music Project: Building A Case For Digital History, Laura Cepero

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This public history thesis project experimented with the application of new technology in creating an educational resource aimed at twenty-first century public audiences. The project presents the history, musicology, and historiography of Afro-American slave music in the United States. In doing so, the project utilizes two digital media tools: VuVox, to create interactive collages; and VisualEyes, to create digital visualizations. The purpose of this thesis is to assess how the project balances the goals of digital history, public history, and academic history. During the production of the Afro-American Slave Music Project, a number of the promises of digital history were …