Digital Commons Network^™

Characterization Of Novel Cyp26b1-Inhibitor, Dx314, For The Treatment Of Keratinization Disorders, Joachim Gwenn-Stephan Veit

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Our skin, particularly the barrier provided by the epidermis, functions as our primary protection from the harsh environment. It protects us from dangerous pathogens, allergens, ultraviolet radiation, and mechanical injury, as well as playing a major role in fluid and thermal regulation. Disruption of skin functions can lead to life-threatening consequences due to increased risk of infection, trans-epidermal water loss, and allergen sensitization. Many common skin disorders often result in a disrupted skin barrier placing patients at risk of complications.

Retinoic acid (RA) is a major component of the vitamin A pathway, which critically controls multiple skin functions including cell …

Measuring Recidivism Risk Outcomes: A Pilot Project In Collaboration With The Flathead Reservation Reentry Program, Desiree Lacy Fox

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: Native Americans have suffered from vast losses of land, traditional ways and practices, language, and ability to pass on traditional knowledge; and those losses have led to current day health and wellness disparities, as well as small but tangibly different tribal populations. While Native Americans make up a disproportionate number of those involved in the criminal justice system, creating an overrepresentation of Native Americans incarcerated in jails and prisons relative to their overall population size, they still tend to be underrepresented in the creation of validated recidivism measures. Risk assessment tools, such as the Level of Service Index-Revised (LSI-R), …

Bone Stress Injuries In Collegiate Distance Runners: Review Of Incidence, Distribution, And Risk Factors, Maryn E. Lowry

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This literature review investigates the risk factors for bone stress injuries that apply to collegiate distance runners. Collegiate distance runners demonstrate high incidence rates of this type of injury and can suffer from a loss of training time. It is important to review the risk factors that apply to these athletes in order to mitigate the time lost to injury and optimize training. PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for original articles pertaining to risk factors associated with bone stress injuries and/or stress fractures. Results from these original articles demonstrate that this injury has many risk factors including biomechanical, biological, …

Modulation Of Cytochrome C’S Peroxidase Activity By Ω-Loops C And D In Monomers And Dimers, Haotian Lei

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Mitochondrial cytochrome c is a heme containing protein with flexible heme ligation. Cytochrome c in its native state with Met80 bound to the heme is an electron shuttle in the electron transport chain. Under apoptotic stimuli, cytochrome c oxidizes the mitochondrial lipid cardiolipin, leading to the release of pro-apoptotic factors into the cytoplasm. To oxidize cardiolipin, Met80 in Ω-loop D must be dissociated from the heme iron, which allows cytochrome c to obtain access to alternative conformers. Two segments of cytochrome c, namely Ω-loops C and D, have been suggested to be important in regulating the dissociation of Met80. Unlike …

The Effects Of Argentine Tango On Balance And Quality Of Life In Subjects With Traumatic Brain Injury, Pamela Marie Peterson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study investigated the effect of a six-week tango-based intervention on the balance and quality of life on subjects with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Twenty-two men and women were assigned into three groups TBI group (TBI: n=2; 44.5±2.1 years), Treatment control (TC: n=8; 30.9±12.3 years), Control (CG: n=12; 32.8±9.6 years). The TC group showed an improvement in stress levels compared to the CG p

The Relationship Between Longevity And A Leader’S Emotional Intelligence And Resilience, Erica L. Allen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The role of an educational leader is complex, challenging and, at times, fraught with adversity. Overcoming the many challenges and adversities, and flourishing as an educational leader, requires resilience and an instinct for survival. Understanding how to prevail in the face of adversity, by employing one’s emotional strengths as well as vulnerabilities and how to increase one’s ability to remain resilient, is essential for an educational leader to succeed in the face of adversity.

The purpose of this study was to research Montana educational leaders to discern whether emotional intelligence EI is necessary to remain resilient and successful in a …

The Relationship Between Commuting Habits And Mortality Rates In The United States, Samuel Earl Supplee-Niederman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In recent years, policy makers have invested in public transportation and infrastructure to promote walking and cycling to work. There is also a large body of economic research that has found mortality rates increase during economic expansions. While there has been a number of epidemiological studies that investigate the impact of commuting mode choice on individual health outcomes, there is a lack of research on the aggregate health effects of alternative transportation methods, such as biking, walking, or using public transportation. This paper uses a fixed-effect model to investigate the impact of an increase in total employment on mortality rates, …

The Climate Change Sublime: Leveraging The Immense Awe Of The Planetary Threat Of Climate Change, Sean D. Quartz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Environmental communication scholarship has not significantly advanced the fundamental theories of sublime discourse since their introduction with John Muir and his advocacy for Yosemite National Park. Such a lacuna is problematic, as humanity is entering the age of the Anthropocene where vast ecological destruction is becoming increasingly relevant, and audience engagement is essential if we are to mitigate the worst to come. This essay seeks to remedy the lack of inquiry into how sublime discourse is used to engage audiences with elements of the Anthropocene, in particular, climate change. Based on the analysis of two documentaries, Chasing Ice and Chasing …

Multinucleated Giant Cell Formation And Phenotype, Kevin Lewis Trout

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Multinucleated giant cells (MGC) are homotypic macrophage syncytia associated with granulomas. Despite their correlation with pathology, MGC functional contributions to inflammation are relatively unknown. The objective of this work was to gain an understanding of MGC phenotype. First, techniques were developed to better enable the study of these cells in vitro. Second, inorganic particles known to cause inflammation were observed to cause MGC formation in the lungs. Finally, the particle that resulted in the highest macrophage fusion was used together with the in vitro system to compare MGC and macrophage phenotype in response to stimulation. The results contribute to fundamental …

Whitewater Ecotourism Development In Bhutan: Opportunities And Challenges For Local Communities, Kira E. Tenney

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Whitewater raft and kayak ecotourism can provide environmental, social-cultural, and economic benefits and opportunities to local communities, but can also result in respective challenges. Globally, adventure ecotourism is seen as a potent win-win strategy for conservation and local community development; however, there is a significant proportion of adventure and whitewater tourism that do not meet ecotourism tenets, and there is a call for incorporating greater investment in local community involvement. Whitewater ecotourism is particularly significant because of the unique opportunities and challenges associated with rivers, the resource upon which the industry directly depends. Clean, free-flowing rivers provide a range of …

Silicone Wristbands As Passive Samplers For Quantitative Measurement Of Wood Smoke Exposure, Hannah J. Wright

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Human exposure to biomass smoke is a health concern worldwide. Although many studies have measured particulate matter in wood smoke as a health concern, exposure to mutagenic and carcinogenic volatile and semivolatile compounds remains understudied. This research introduces a novel method of quantitative measurement of exposure to these compounds using silicone wristbands. The study developed a method to extract analytes of interest from the wristbands and quantify a few volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with known ill health effects, and then performed linear regressions between extracted levels and exposure to those analytes using controlled exposure studies. Results indicate …

Zero-Knowledge De Novo Algorithms For Analyzing Small Molecules Using Mass Spectrometry, Patrick Anthony Kreitzberg

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the analysis of mass spectra, if a superset of the molecules thought to be in a sample is known a priori, then there are well established techniques for the identification of the molecules such as database search and spectral libraries. Linear molecules are chains of subunits. For example, a peptide is a linear molecule with an “alphabet” of 20 possible amino acid subunits. A peptide of length six will have 20⁶ = 64, 000, 000 different possible outcomes. Small molecules, such as sugars and metabolites, are not constrained to linear structures and may branch. These molecules are …

An Exploration: How Voluntourism Conservation Projects Coordinate With And Contribute To Conservation Efforts In Madre De Dios, Peru, Alejandrina R. Ocanas

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Mirroring trends in international tourism, alternative tourism, and ecotourism, the voluntourism industry has grown, developed and diversified significantly since 2005. Scientific attention to voluntourism has grown, too, focusing mainly on participant motivations and outcomes. However, explicit research on the outcomes and impacts voluntourism projects generate for their host communities and environments is sparse. As voluntourism becomes increasingly frequent, it is critical to design and implement projects that maximize potential for positive impacts and minimize negative impacts. This study reaches toward that goal by investigating (1) the operational characteristics of voluntourism conservation projects in Madre de Dios, Peru, a global conservation …

A Qualitative Study Of Native American Older Adults And Elderly Depressive Symptoms And Protective Factors, Kristen K. Pyke

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Research of depression in Native American older adults and elderly has been limited. The research that has been done has typically fallen into three domains: exploring the frequency of depression (Carleton et al., 2013), identifying or developing culturally competent measurement tools (Ackerson, Dick, Manson, & Beals, 2018), and determining the protective factors that reduce the effects of depressions. More specifically, Kaufman et al. (2013) found that spirituality was beneficial in reducing depression; however, this varied by tribe within their sample. Whitbeck et al. (2002) found that perceived social support among elderly Native Americans was a protective factor for the individuals …

Determining The Precambrian Structure And Thermotectonic Evolution Of The Central Ruby Range, Southwest Montana, Sara Vivienne Stotter

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Ruby Range in southwestern Montana is a fundamental location within the Archean Wyoming craton for examining Precambrian crustal architecture and determining the thermotectonic evolution of the region. Monazite, zircon, and garnet geochronology from each of the three major units within the Ruby Range reveal two distinct metamorphic age populations: an older population ca. 2.55-2.45 Ga (the Tendoy orogeny) and a second, younger population ca. 1.78-1.72 Ga (the Big Sky orogeny). Phase equilibria modeling for the Big Sky orogeny within the confines of the Mine Gulch 7.5’ quadrangle reveal discrete pressure-temperature (P-T)histories for each of the three major …

Impacts Of Trogocytosis-Mediated Intracellular Signaling On Cd4+ T Cell Effector Cytokine Production And Differentiation, Steven James Reed

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Trogocytosis is the direct intercellular transfer of membrane and membrane associated molecules. Unlike other passive-membrane transfer events, trogocytosed molecules may remain fully functional and become re-expressed on the surface of the trogocytosis-positive (trog+) recipient. This phenomenon commonly occurs between various cell types, including those of the immune system. CD4+ T cell trogocytosis occurs during their activation by antigen presenting cells (APC). Consequently, the acquired molecules include ligands for signaling receptors on the T cell.

The impacts of CD4+ trogocytosis on the immune response are largely unknown. While it has been demonstrated that trog+ cells can present trogocytosed peptide:MHC (pMHC), and …

The Alphaback: A Novel Processing Speed Test, Meredith Kathleen Reynolds

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Processing speed is a sensitive indicator of normal aging, as well as neurological impairment. Despite the importance of assessing this cognitive domain in neuropsychological assessments, few tests of processing speed are available. The purpose of the current study was to establish the operating characteristics, as well as the convergent and divergent validity of a novel processing speed test, the Alphaback, on a healthy college student population (N = 91). The Alphaback is a 2 min computerized task in which examinees must orally state the alphabetical letter that precedes the letter presented on a screen as fast as possible. Cognitive tests …

Making The Most Of People We Do Not Like: Capitalizing On Negative Feedback, Christopher Edward Anderson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Capitalization was first articulated by Langston (1994) to describe how individuals increase their own positivity by sharing good news with others. This study tests the idea that sometimes people share positive news with others they do not like in an attempt to savor their dissatisfaction with shared accomplishments. A fully crossed randomized 2 X 2 experiment was used to set an initial impression (positive or negative) followed by an interview procedure where the participants would disclose some recent positive event and the confederate interviewer would provide feedback (positive or negative). This procedure was used to test capitalization processes in a …

Modeling And Forecasting Glacier National Park Visitation, Michael James Kernan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

National parks have recently seen increased visitation demand. Glacier National Park is located in an area where changes in weather and climate will occur at an accelerated rate. Changes in fire and precipitation regimes are taking place at a time when Glacier National Park is setting new visitation records. This paper uses regression and forecast models to investigate the changing landscape of park visitation.

Findings suggest important impacts to monthly visitation and cycling on Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park are associated with forest fire activity and precipitation. The conclusions of this paper support perceptions about the effect natural occurrences …

Cognitive Impacts Of Age Based Stereotype Threat In Older Adults, Cali Caughie

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The present study examined the effects of age-based stereotype threat (ABST) exposure on cognitive performance in older adults. Forty-nine community volunteers age 65 and older were stratified by age and gender and then randomly assigned to either an ABST group or a Control group. The ABST group read a paragraph describing the expected negative effects of age on cognition and the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in older adults. Participants in the Control group read a neutral paragraph of similar length and difficulty. It was hypothesized that individuals in the ABST group would perform worse on neuropsychological testing than individuals in …

Enhancing The Emotional Impact Of Prospections Via Personal Values, Bethany Grace Gorter

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Prospection involves imagining future events using mental representations. When people engage in positive, vivid, prospections they report “boosts” of mood, and higher rates of well-being. This study sought to cultivate positive affect in response to prospections by incorporating values into future imagery. Two groups imagined everyday future events in detail. One group additionally learned about values and linked these values to the everyday future events. We hypothesized that the values-based prospection would result in greater increases in mood, and that this increase would be mediated by additional access to details and phenomenological features. Contrary to hypotheses, there was no positive …

Disentangling The Relations Between Acute Stress, Chronic Stress, And Prospective Memory, Brandon Taylor Stewart

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Given the importance and prevalence of Prospective Memory (PM) in daily life and the common experience of stress, it is critical to understand the relations between them. Despite a growing literature base, the answers to some of the simplest questions about these relations remain unanswered. The present study was designed to investigate the relations between both acute and chronic stress and time- and event-based PM. Several methodological features make this study unique and may contribute to a broadening of our understanding of PM in daily life. The results of the present study revealed that chronic stress was negatively correlated with …

Assessing The Robustness Of Time-To-Event Abundance Estimation, Kenneth E. Loonam

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abundance estimates can inform management policies and are used to address a variety of wildlife research questions, but reliable estimates of abundance can be difficult and expensive to obtain. For low-density, difficult to detect species, such as cougars (Puma concolor), the costs and intensive field effort required to estimate abundance can make working at broad spatial and temporal scales impractical. Remote cameras have proven effective in detecting these species, but the widely applied methods of estimating abundance from remote cameras rely on some portion of the population being marked or uniquely identifiable, limiting their utility to populations with naturally occurring …

Applications Of Asymptotic Methods: Analyzing Mathematical Models In Neuroscience And Describing Fast Dynamics Of A Trajectory In The Vicinity Of A Chaotic Attractor, Denis Mikhailovich Shchepakin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The current dissertation focuses on two unrelated subjects: modeling in Neuroscience applications and Chaos Theory.

Neurons are units of the nervous system that receive, conduct, and transmit information to each other and target tissue via electrical signaling. One of the mechanisms of the signal transduction is through signaling molecules called neurotransmitters. Glutamate is the predominant excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian and human central nervous system. However, the mechanism of regulation and sensation of the glutamate via glutamate receptors and transporters is not completely understood.

We discuss currently existing models of glutamate receptors and transporters, and their main problem: the overparameterization …

Constructing Distance, Responsibility, And Memory Management Theories: An Anthropological Approach To Death Notification Interactions, Teresa Ann 'Lilly' White

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Following a sudden or unexpected death, coroners often communicate the death to the next-of-kin. Death notifications may occur in hospitals, assisted living or dying facilities, homes, offices or workplaces, correctional facilities, schools, or other locations. A death notification has been perceived by outsiders and many researchers as a one-time, unilateral death-telling event. I argue, instead, death notifications are a series of social interactions and processes necessitating multiple actors and mechanisms. The death notification processes begin for the coroner when they are dispatched to a death scene, while the processes begin for the next-of-kin upon the death-telling event. The end is …

A Comprehensive Case Report For The University Of Montana Forensic Anthropology Laboratory Case #18-188, Elizabeth Rose Valentine

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This report consists of the skeletal remains, assessment of the minimum number of individuals, a biological profile analysis and a literature review on pathology analyses for forensic anthropology case reporting. The human remains are consistent with a MNI of one. The individual is likely an adult male of European ancestry with an estimated age range of 30 to 50 years at time of death. This individual has a probable forensic stature of 5’3’’ to 5’4’’. This individual may be identified by the burr hole or trepanation located on the frontal bone as there are likely medical records for this procedure.

Local Knowledge And Climate Information: The Role Of Trust And Risk In Agricultural Decisions About Drought, Adam J. Snitker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Climate change is projected to dramatically impact agricultural production across the world. Agricultural producers must adapt to changing conditions by implementing practices and utilizing knowledge that creates resilient operations. This study explores how Montana farmers and ranchers use of different types of knowledge during periods of drought and how risk perceptions and trust influence the use of knowledge. To understand the role trust and risk in producers’ use of local knowledge and climate information, I conducted five focus groups with 34 Montana agricultural producers. Producers explained that they encounter many agriculture-related risks, including uncertain forecasts, financial losses, and adverse weather. …

Learning From Stone: Using Lithic Artifacts To Explore The Transmission Of Culture At Bridge River, British Columbia, Anne V. Smyrl

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Inherent in all tool-making traditions is the necessity of teaching the next generation of toolmakers. The learning process, although crucial to our understanding of past societies, is difficult to study archaeologically, due to its intangibility. However, some technologies leave visible traces of their production. Key among these are chipped stone tools, known as lithics, which leave distinct archaeological traces of each part of the creation processes. Modern experimenters have recreated these processes, and as a result, have revealed archaeologically-visible differences between novice and expert knappers. These can be identified in archaeological lithic assemblages, and serve as a starting point for …

Heritage Alchemy: A Model For Sustaining The Built Heritage Of Montana In The Changing Landscapes Of The 21st Century Via Perspectives From The Netherlands On Policy, Education, And Stewardship, Jeffrey Macdonald

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This Ph.D. dissertation presents sets of interrelated research problems, and challenges to sustaining the built heritage of Montana, in the context of the changing modern landscapes in the western United States. The research connects issues of heritage policy, education, and stewardship as common, and connected themes in historic preservation, historical archaeology, anthropology, and cultural landscape practices. The dissertation is comprised of three articles that are under review for publication, presenting perspectives and data assembled via empirical, and place-based field research, interviews, and interaction with heritage professionals, and site investigation conducted throughout the Netherlands between August 2013 and February 2017. These …

Ecological Stoichiometry In Watersheds: From Land To Water In The Qinghai Lake Basin, Ze Ren

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

We examined the influences of grassland status (as indexed by normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI) on carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) concentrations and stoichiometry, nutrient limitation, as well as microbial community structure in soil, stream, and/or lake ecosystems in the Qinghai Lake watershed, where grassland is the dominant landcover and more than half of the grassland is degraded.

Chapter 2 showed that grassland degradation decreased C and N concentrations as well as C:N, C:P, and N:P ratios in soil. Moreover, grassland degradation decreased C, N, and P concentrations and influenced C:N and N:P ratios in soil microbial biomass. …