Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication Year
File Type

Articles 24211 - 24240 of 35665

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Development Of A Process For Fabricating High Aspect Ratio Parylene Microstructures., Asma Waqar May 2006

Development Of A Process For Fabricating High Aspect Ratio Parylene Microstructures., Asma Waqar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

PARYLENE (poly-para-xylylene) is mostly used as a conformal protective polymer pin-hole free coating material to uniformly protect any component configuration on diverse substrates. This thesis describes in detail how the unique properties of parylene can be conveniently combined with MEMS technology to meet biocompatibility requirements of biological and chemical applications and develop unique microstructure shapes. Since etching of parylene is not readily possible, the best way to mold it into any shape would be to etch hollow molds in silicon and deposit parylene in them. It is easy to etch away the silicon mold for releasing these parylene structures. Parylene …

Go to article

On Secure Communication In Integrated Internet And Heterogeneous Multi-Hop Wireless Networks., Bin Xie 1970- May 2006

On Secure Communication In Integrated Internet And Heterogeneous Multi-Hop Wireless Networks., Bin Xie 1970-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Integration of the Internet with a Cellular Network, WMAN, WLAN, and MANET presents an exceptional promise by having co-existence of conventional WWANs/WMANs/WLANs with wireless ad hoc networks to provide ubiquitous communication. We call such integrated networks providing internet accessibility for mobile users as heterogeneous multi-hop wireless networks where the Internet and wireless infrastructure such as WLAN access points (APs) and base stations (BSs) constitute the backbone for various emerging wireless networks (e.g., multi-hop WLAN and ad hoc networks. Earlier approaches for the Internet connectivity either provide only unidirectional connectivity for ad hoc hosts or cause high overhead as well as …

Go to article

Addressing Freight Imbalance In The Truckload Trucking Industry Through Hierarchical Planning., Anthony S. Humphrey May 2006

Addressing Freight Imbalance In The Truckload Trucking Industry Through Hierarchical Planning., Anthony S. Humphrey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Freight imbalance is a problem that negatively affects drivers and carriers within the truckload trucking industry. One result of this problem is that the industry experiences high annual driver turnover, exceeding 130% annually. The turnover can be attributed in part to driver dissatisfaction due to the inability of the carriers to provide regular driving tours as a result of freight imbalance. However, due to the complexity of the imbalance, carriers have difficulty combating the problem. This dissertation examines three problems addressing freight imbalance from a hierarchical planning perspective. The Weekend Draying Problem focuses is an operational planning approach for addressing …

Go to article

Service Oriented Architecture For Real Time Data Fusion., Derek Ray Massey May 2006

Service Oriented Architecture For Real Time Data Fusion., Derek Ray Massey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project will provide a service-oriented architecture to handle sensor data in real time as the information comes in. There are two types of sensors we're implementing into our project, mobile sensors and stationary sensors. These sensors attach unto motes to gather data about temperature, light and acoustics. The fusion part of the topic is taking both types of sensors, bringing the data together and storing the data in a SQL Database. This project will focus on the gathering, storing and preprocessing of the data. The data from the sensors is stored every three minutes using the BULK INSERT command. …

Go to article

An Examination Of Student Performance In Reading/Language And Mathematics After Two Years Of Thinking Maps® Implementation In Three Tennessee Schools., Katharine Mabie Hickie May 2006

An Examination Of Student Performance In Reading/Language And Mathematics After Two Years Of Thinking Maps® Implementation In Three Tennessee Schools., Katharine Mabie Hickie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what, if any, association exists between Thinking Maps® instruction and student achievement in fifth grade students in Reading/Language and Mathematics as reported by the State NCE scores of the criterion referenced portion of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement Test in 3 Title I elementary schools in northeast Tennessee. The association was examined after 2 years of Thinking Maps® implementation and instruction. Using a quantitative design, the quasiexperimental study included fifth grade students' State NCE scores from 2005 and the same students' State NCE scores from 2003. Scores obtained …

Go to article

The Influence Om Mentoring On Goal Attainment And Role Satisfaction For Registered Nurses In Acute Care., Christine Benz Smith May 2006

The Influence Om Mentoring On Goal Attainment And Role Satisfaction For Registered Nurses In Acute Care., Christine Benz Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring has been suggested as a means to assist with role transition, career planning, and retention in the profession by providing opportunities for personal and professional growth lead to satisfaction. Satisfaction is especially crucial for the retention of Registered Nurses in a time when the profession has been experiencing a critical shortage. This quantitative study examined the influence of mentoring for RNs who have been employed in acute care facilities for the first time for less than 2 years. Using Bouquillon's mentoring instrument and based in the frameworks of King and Kram, the study suggests mentoring is occurring among new …

Go to article

Use Of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles For Protection Against Radiation-Induced Cell Death, Jimmie Colon Jan 2006

Use Of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles For Protection Against Radiation-Induced Cell Death, Jimmie Colon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ability of engineered cerium oxide nanoparticles to confer radioprotection was examined. Rat astrocytes were treated with cerium oxide nanoparticles to a final concentration of 10 nanomolar, irradiated with a single 10 Gy dose of ionizing radiation and cell death was evaluated by propidium iodine uptake at 24 and 48 hours after radiation insult. Treatment of rat astrocytes with nanoceria resulted in an approximate 3-fold decrease in radiation induced death. These results suggest that the nanoceria are conferring protection from radiation induced cell death. Further experiments with human cells were conducted. Human normal and tumor cells (MCF-7 and CRL8798) were …

Go to article

Bloodlines, Pamela Toner Jan 2006

Bloodlines, Pamela Toner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"Bloodlines" is a collection of personal essays that focus on the process of remembering, imagining, and reflecting on the past through the lens of a perpetually shifting present. They consider situations ranging from mental and physical illnesses, from cancer to alcohol addiction, to career changes, to the often dysfunctional and displaced family ties that distance and adulthood have not severed. In "Searching," I write the narrative of the ongoing search for my birthmother, and how the search complicates the relationship with my adoptive mother, who always feared she’d lose me. Similarly, "Of Flesh and Blood" recounts and negotiates how hereditary …

Go to article

The Relationship Between Resiliency In Rural African American Male Youth And Their Awareness Of Citizenship Practices, Karen Judd Jan 2006

The Relationship Between Resiliency In Rural African American Male Youth And Their Awareness Of Citizenship Practices, Karen Judd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Effective citizenship practice in the United States has several important characteristics, which can provide the foundation for young people to access opportunity in employment and education. A continuum of policies, programs, and strategies meant to alleviate poverty have central themes of providing education and vocational opportunities, and yet large numbers of young minority people remain disenfranchised with no chance to succeed. There is even greater loss in the population of African American males who otherwise could achieve stable and strong economic life styles. Large unemployment and under-employment of African American males is documented through U.S. data sources where declining rates …

Go to article

Characterization And Evaluation Of The Immunogenizity Of Chloroplast-Derived 19-Kilodalton C-Terminal Merozoite Surface Antigen 1 (Msp1) Of Plasmodium Yoelii Yoelii, Sushamadevi Kamarajugadda Jan 2006

Characterization And Evaluation Of The Immunogenizity Of Chloroplast-Derived 19-Kilodalton C-Terminal Merozoite Surface Antigen 1 (Msp1) Of Plasmodium Yoelii Yoelii, Sushamadevi Kamarajugadda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Malaria is a protozoan disease caused in humans by four different species of the genus Plasmodium (P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malarie) and in rodents by Plasmodium yoelii yoelii. It has been reported that 1.5 to 3 million deaths occur worldwide due to malaria and the DALY (Daily affected life years) reports about 0.76% of world population affected by the disease in some of the major countries like Africa, Asia, Latin America etc., Due to the development of resistance to drugs by the parasite, there is an urgent need and prime importance for the development of an effective …

Go to article

Expression Of Heterologous Proteins In Transgenic Tobacco Chloroplasts To Produce A Biopharmaceutical And Biopolymer, Andrew Leon Devine Jan 2006

Expression Of Heterologous Proteins In Transgenic Tobacco Chloroplasts To Produce A Biopharmaceutical And Biopolymer, Andrew Leon Devine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The chloroplast has been demonstrated to be an ideal compartment to accumulate certain proteins or their biosynthetic products that would be harmful if they were accumulated in the cytoplasm. Hyper-expression of foreign proteins in chloroplast transgenics has accumulated up to 46% total soluble protein, this is possible due to the ~100 chloroplast genomes per chloroplast and ~100 chloroplasts per cell which can therefore, contain up to 10,000 copies of the transgene. Maternal gene inheritance of plastids in most crop plants results in natural gene containment. Chloroplast transformation also eliminates positional effects that are frequently observed with nuclear transformation and no …

Go to article

College Students' Recall Of And Attitudes Toward Brand Placement In Reality Television Programming, Temitayo Fayemi Jan 2006

College Students' Recall Of And Attitudes Toward Brand Placement In Reality Television Programming, Temitayo Fayemi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis measures college students' attitudes toward, and the effectiveness of, brand placement in the genre of reality television. Surveys were used to discover the level of brand recall for the products and brands displayed in reality television programming and to discover viewers' reported reasons for paying attention to these brands. The study found that viewers tended to have positive attitudes toward brand placement in reality television and that focus on a brand was a major reason for recall. Furthermore, the study found no significant difference in the recall scores of reality television viewers versus non-viewers and no significant difference …

Go to article

Limnological And Landscape Factors Affecting Use Of Manufactured Ponds By The Invasive Cuban Treefrog (Osteopilus Septentrionalis), Terina Nusinov Jan 2006

Limnological And Landscape Factors Affecting Use Of Manufactured Ponds By The Invasive Cuban Treefrog (Osteopilus Septentrionalis), Terina Nusinov

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Exotic amphibians are often detrimental to native biotas. In Florida, the exotic Cuban Treefrog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) eats native frogs and may outcompete them for resources. Cuban Treefrogs thrive in disturbed areas and around buildings, and often breed in manufactured wetlands such as retention ponds and borrow pits. This study identified limnological, landscape, and biotic characteristics that discouraged pond use by Cuban Treefrogs and promoted use by native amphibian species. I sampled natural and manufactured ponds in Orange County, Florida, for one year, using standard methods to estimate the species richness and relative abundance of amphibians and their potential fish and …

Go to article

The Effect Of Job Strain In The Hospital Environment: Applying Orem's Theory Of Self Care, Diane Andrews Jan 2006

The Effect Of Job Strain In The Hospital Environment: Applying Orem's Theory Of Self Care, Diane Andrews

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the causal relationships between job strain, the practice environment and the use of coping skills in order to assist in the prediction of nurses who are at risk for voluntary turnover. It was conducted at the level of the individual nurse employee in order to better understand the health consequences associated with job strain, the factors in the professional practice environment which may contribute to the propensity to leave and the influence of coping behaviors in response to workplace stressors. It was undertaken with the intention of identifying intervention strategies which will …

Go to article

Nonprofit Board Effectiveness, Funding Source,And Financial Vulnerability, Matthew Hodge Jan 2006

Nonprofit Board Effectiveness, Funding Source,And Financial Vulnerability, Matthew Hodge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nonprofit organizations rely heavily on their governing board of directors to provide leadership, strategic guidance, and financial oversight. The nonprofit community continues to grow, and the services provided by these organizations have become a critical part of our society, providing a wide variety of services targeting a diverse population. In this context, how the role of the board of directors impacts the financial position of the nonprofit organization is of great interest to both the academic community and the practitioner. This study examined three areas of interest: board effectiveness, funding source, and financial vulnerability. First, the association between board effectiveness …

Go to article

Is The Exotic Brazilian Pepper, Schinus Terebinthifolius, A Threat To Mangrove Ecosystems In Florida?, Melinda Donnelly Jan 2006

Is The Exotic Brazilian Pepper, Schinus Terebinthifolius, A Threat To Mangrove Ecosystems In Florida?, Melinda Donnelly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mangrove ecosystems are critical to Florida, providing economic resources to humans, and untold ecological resources to estuarine organisms. In Florida's estuaries, mangrove ecosystems have suffered significant losses due to natural and human disturbances; these disturbances potentially leave mangrove communities vulnerable to invasion by the opportunistic exotic, Schinus terebinthifolius (Brazilian pepper). Prior experiments have suggested that Schinus terebinthifolius is unable to survive under marine conditions and poses no long term threat to mangrove systems. However, this contradicts field observations where Schinus terebinthifolius was found growing in the intertidal zone of Mosquito Lagoon alongside three native species of mangroves, Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia …

Go to article

Predicting Risks Of Invasion Of Caulerpa Species In Florida, Christian Glardon Jan 2006

Predicting Risks Of Invasion Of Caulerpa Species In Florida, Christian Glardon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Invasions of exotic species are one of the primary causes of biodiversity loss on our planet (National Research Council 1995). In the marine environment, all habitat types including estuaries, coral reefs, mud flats, and rocky intertidal shorelines have been impacted (e.g. Bertness et al. 2001). Recently, the topic of invasive species has caught the public's attention. In particular, there is worldwide concern about the aquarium strain of the green alga Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C. Agardh that was introduced to the Mediterranean Sea in 1984 from the Monaco Oceanographic Museum. Since that time, it has flourished in thousands of hectares of …

Go to article

Looking Through Rose Colored Glasses:The Media's Influence On Perceptions Of Romance And Marriage, Brianne Straub Jan 2006

Looking Through Rose Colored Glasses:The Media's Influence On Perceptions Of Romance And Marriage, Brianne Straub

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between different media and expectations about romantic relationships and marriage. Participants were asked to complete a survey that measured different romantic constructs and the types of media exposures on a daily and weekly basis. The variables were measured to determine the effect the media play in a person's perceptions on romantic relationships and marriage. The results of the study concluded that although general television viewing does not predict perceptions about romance and marriage, the romantic genre of television programs as well as magazines do have a role in predicting romantic perceptions.

Go to article

Ancient Maya Afterlife Iconography: Traveling Between Worlds, Mosley Dianna Wilson Jan 2006

Ancient Maya Afterlife Iconography: Traveling Between Worlds, Mosley Dianna Wilson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ancient Maya afterlife is a rich and voluminous topic. Unfortunately, much of the material currently utilized for interpretations about the ancient Maya comes from publications written after contact by the Spanish or from artifacts with no context, likely looted items. Both sources of information can be problematic and can skew interpretations. Cosmological tales documented after the Spanish invasion show evidence of the religious conversion that was underway. Noncontextual artifacts are often altered in order to make them more marketable. An example of an iconographic theme that is incorporated into the surviving media of the ancient Maya, but that is …

Go to article

Regulation Of Apoptotic Alkalinization Through Phosphorylation Of Sodium Hydrogen Exchanger Via P38 Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase, Amy Greinier Jan 2006

Regulation Of Apoptotic Alkalinization Through Phosphorylation Of Sodium Hydrogen Exchanger Via P38 Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase, Amy Greinier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Regulation of intracellular pH is responsible for many cellular processes, such as metabolism, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis. Many chemotherapeutic agents work by inducing target cells to undergo apoptosis, a cell death process still poorly understood. Previous studies demonstrated that a rise in intracellular pH activated apoptotic proteins leading to cytochrome C release. This "apoptotic alkalinization" occurred upon activation of the plasma membrane protein, sodium hydrogen exchanger-1 (NHE1), whose activity is regulated by the stress kinase p38 MAPK. In previous studies, upon cytokine withdrawal from cytokine-dependent lymphocytes induced the activity of the p38 MAP kinase which then phosphorylated the C-terminus …

Go to article

U.S. Symphony Orchestra Bylaws: Policy Anomalies And Trends, Anita Loomis Jan 2006

U.S. Symphony Orchestra Bylaws: Policy Anomalies And Trends, Anita Loomis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bylaws serve as the skeleton of any nonprofit organization's administrative culture. They are the laws and rules that govern the internal affairs of an organization. (Pickett 2000) Since the primary function of bylaws is to support the effective management of operations, the examination of bylaws content is particularly relevant when looking for evidence of innovative adaptations to organizational change. As students of arts administration, the focus of the researcher's investigation centered on cultural organizations; symphony orchestras in this instance. Symphony orchestras, like other cultural organizations, must adapt to survive internal and external change. The reason for choosing to examine bylaws …

Go to article

On Modeling Hiv Infection Of Cd4+ T Cells, Amy Comerford Jan 2006

On Modeling Hiv Infection Of Cd4+ T Cells, Amy Comerford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We examine an early model for the interaction of HIV with CD4+ T cells in vivo and define possible parameters and effects of said parameters on the model. We then examine a newer, more simplified model for the interaction of HIV with CD4+ T cells that also considers four populations: uninfected T cells, latently infected T cells, actively infected T cells, and free virus. The stability of both the disease free steady state and the endemically infected steady state are examined utilizing standard methods and the Routh-Hurwitz criteria. We show that if N, the number of infectious virions produced per …

Go to article

Predation On The Eastern Oyster Crassostrea Virginica On Intertidal Reefs Affected By Recreational Boating, Jennifer Stiner Jan 2006

Predation On The Eastern Oyster Crassostrea Virginica On Intertidal Reefs Affected By Recreational Boating, Jennifer Stiner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Widely regarded as a keystone species and ecosystem engineer, the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica plays a vital role in estuarine environments. Complex, three-dimensional oyster reefs act as havens for biodiversity and contribute to ecological processes. Recently, concern for this resource has arisen in Mosquito Lagoon, Florida, the southernmost limit along the Atlantic coast for undisturbed, intertidal reefs of C. virginica. Since the 1990s, intense recreational boating activity has caused atypical dead margins (mounds of disarticulated shells) to emerge on the seaward edges of oyster reefs located along major navigational channels. Once dead margins are formed, little is known about their …

Go to article

Reproductive Delay In The Female Cape Ground Squirrel (Xerus Inauris), Beth Pettitt Jan 2006

Reproductive Delay In The Female Cape Ground Squirrel (Xerus Inauris), Beth Pettitt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Cape ground squirrel, Xerus inauris, is a highly social cooperative breeder that forms groups containing multiple breeding females. While the distribution of reproduction among group members is fairly even (i.e. exhibits low reproductive skew), previous studies of Cape ground squirrels suggest the reproductive development of sub-adult females is inhibited by the presence of adult breeding female group mates. As reproductive delay is known to be influenced by a number of different parameters, my goal was to determine if other factors affected the timing of sexual maturity, and if so, which factors are the most influential. In this study, I …

Go to article

Expression And Characterization Of Mycobacterium Paratuberculosis 19kda With Posttranslational Modification, Mitra Safavi-Khasraghi Jan 2006

Expression And Characterization Of Mycobacterium Paratuberculosis 19kda With Posttranslational Modification, Mitra Safavi-Khasraghi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the fact that E. coli supports limited posttranslational modification, this bacterium has been universally used as the expression system of choice. Expression of modified proteins in E. coli may lead to expression of recombinant proteins that lack essential immunomodulatory or catalytic components essentials for infectious processes. Previously in our laboratory, pMptb#28 plasmid containing a 4.8 kb insert from M. paratuberculosis has been identified which expressed 16 kDa recombinant protein in E. coli and 19 kDa recombinant protein in Mycobacterium smegmatis. The objective of this study is to identify the ORF sequence, investigate possible posttranslational modification and characterize the protein …

Go to article

Silent Outsiders: Searching For Queer Identity In Composition Readers, Travis Duncan Jan 2006

Silent Outsiders: Searching For Queer Identity In Composition Readers, Travis Duncan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study searches twenty composition readers' table of contents for the degree of inclusivity of queer people and issues. Four means of erasure are labeled as possible erasing of queer identity: presuming heteronormativity, overt homophobia, perpetuating tokenism, and pathologizing queer identity. The presence of other differences are compared to the number of times that queer identity is referenced in the table of contents. The final portion of the analysis examines the two most inclusive composition readers to understand more clearly how the readers present queer individuals and issues. In a sense, I want to explore the question of how often …

Go to article

Monitoring A Potentially Stressful Situation In Captive Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla) Through Analysis Of Behavior And Urinary Cortisol, Douglas Skurski Jan 2006

Monitoring A Potentially Stressful Situation In Captive Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla) Through Analysis Of Behavior And Urinary Cortisol, Douglas Skurski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The concept of quantifying animal welfare has received much discussion, in various industries such as agriculture, laboratory, and zoological facilities. Behavioral, physical, and physiological indicators of welfare have previously been used to assess animal welfare; each having advantages and disadvantages, ranging from the practicality of data collection, to the validity of the data and how it is interpreted. Concurrent assessment of multiple measures is a more robust way to examine animal welfare, which utilizes the advantages of each measure, and provides additional information on which to base conclusions and animal care management decisions. This study used measures of behavior and …

Go to article

The Development Of A Dismounted Infantry Embedded Trainer With An Intelligent Tutor System, Jason Sims Jan 2006

The Development Of A Dismounted Infantry Embedded Trainer With An Intelligent Tutor System, Jason Sims

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dismounted infantry system is a man wearable system with intelligent tutoring tool used to assess training. The tasks used to assess training for the intelligent tutoring were: (1) move as a member of a fireteam, (2) enter and clear a room, and (3) report battlefield information. The soldier wearing the simulation system acts as a member of a fireteam to conduct a virtual mission. The soldier's teammates are computer generated entities to conduct the mission. Soldiers were surveyed on the tasks assessed as well as the features of the system. Soldiers were also surveyed on tasks they felt needed …

Go to article

Testing The Peninsula Effect: Does It Affect Freshwater Crustaceans Inhabiting Ephemeral Wetlands On Florida's Ridges?, Debra Rinne Jan 2006

Testing The Peninsula Effect: Does It Affect Freshwater Crustaceans Inhabiting Ephemeral Wetlands On Florida's Ridges?, Debra Rinne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The peninsula effect is a pattern of diversity wherein species richness decreases along a peninsula from base to tip and is attributed to three mechanisms: historical processes, habitat gradients, and immigration-extinction equilibrium. Numerous studies have reported conflicting results involving the existence, cause, and validity of the peninsula effect in part because they did not account for effects of history or habitat on species richness patterns and because most previous research focused on organisms that actively disperse, which could confound results with behavioral habitat selection. Florida poses an excellent opportunity to study the peninsula effect because of its geological history and …

Go to article

Exploring The Relationship Between Intimate Partner Violence And Hiv Risk Propensity In African American Women, Lauren Lois Josephs Jan 2006

Exploring The Relationship Between Intimate Partner Violence And Hiv Risk Propensity In African American Women, Lauren Lois Josephs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the relationship between Intimate Partner Violence and HIV Risk-Propensity in African-American women. Current literature on HIV reveals that one of the groups most seriously impacted by the continued scourge of HIV is African-American heterosexual women. An anonymous questionnaire was completed by a community based sample of 200 African American women with a varied history of intimate partner violence to (1) explore whether a relationship exists between Intimate Partner Violence and sexual coercion in African-American women (2) determine whether a relationship exists between sexual coercion and HIV Risk in African-American women (3) determine if the frequency of intimate …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last