Digital Commons Network^™

A Survey Of New England Sheep Producers, Arielle L. Halpern

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Reanalysis Of The Usher Syndrome Type 2 Carrier As “Phenotype-Free”, Peter Perrino

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Small Rna Sequencing And Rt-Qpcr Validation Of Forensically Relevant Body Fluids, Karly Johannsen

Master's Theses

Body fluid identification is an important aspect of forensic investigations because it assists with the reconstruction of crime scenes and can refute and/or support witness statements. Currently, there is no universal method for body fluid identification. Each body fluid has several tests for its identification, both presumptive and confirmatory. A universal method for body fluid identification that is sensitive, specific, efficient, and minimally destructive is necessary.

In recent years miRNAs have been heralded as novel biomarkers for the identification of body fluids. Several research groups across the US and internationally have been formed to determine which miRNAs are suitable for …

Construction Of A Reference Allelic Ladder For An Odocoileus Str Multiplex, Jolene Strand

Master's Theses

Odocoileus is a genus of Cervidae (deer) consisting of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus, Zimmerman, 1780), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus, Rafinesque, 1817) and blacktailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus, Rafinesque, 1817). Hunting Odocoileus is only legal with proper permits according to laws that dictate when, where, how, and what can be hunted. Anything outside the legal limits is considered to be poaching. A useful tool for investigating poaching cases is Short Tandem Repeat (STR) DNA analysis. This is commonly used in human forensic casework to link DNA evidence found at crime scenes to either victims or suspects. In poaching cases, it can …

Relevance Analysis For Document Retrieval, Eric Labouve

Master's Theses

Document retrieval systems recover documents from a dataset and order them according to their perceived relevance to a user’s search query. This is a difficult task for machines to accomplish because there exists a semantic gap between the meaning of the terms in a user’s literal query and a user’s true intentions. Even with this ambiguity that arises with a lack of context, users still expect that the set of documents returned by a search engine is both highly relevant to their query and properly ordered. The focus of this thesis is on document retrieval systems that explore methods of …

Sweep And Taper Analysis Of Surfboard Fins Using Computational Fluid Dynamics, Brandon James Baldovin

Master's Theses

The research presented here provides a basis for understanding the hydrodynamics of surfboard fin geometries. While there have been select studies on fins there has been little correlation to the shape of the fin and its corresponding hydrodynamic performance. This research analyzes how changing the planform shape of a surfboard fin effects its performance and flow field. This was done by isolating the taper and sweep distribution of a baseline geometry and varying each parameter individually whilst maintaining a constant span and surface area. The baseline surfboard fin was used as a template in Matlab to generate a set of …

Wastewater Treatment And Nitrogen Removal In Bench-Scale Photobioreactors Operated With Solids Recycling, Erik Hoffnagle

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the effect of solids recycling on nitrification, organic carbon removal, and algal-bacterial productivity in bench-scale photobioreactors (PBRs) simulating winter pond conditions in San Luis Obispo, California and a 6-acre raceway system in Delhi, California. Two sets of duplicate photobioreactors operated with or without solids recycling were fed primary clarifier effluent (1^oEff) for the first experiment, and facultative pond effluent (FAC) for the second experiment.

In both experiments mean productivity was lower in solids recycled PBRs (3.67 and 2.3 g/m²-day), than in controls without solids recycling (4.15 and 3.9 g/m²-day). When fed …

Real-Time Ray Traced Global Illumination Using Fast Sphere Intersection Approximation For Dynamic Objects, Reed Phillip Garmsen

Master's Theses

Realistic lighting models are an important component of modern computer generated, interactive 3D applications. One of the more difficult to emulate aspects of real-world lighting is the concept of indirect lighting, often referred to as global illumination in computer graphics. Balancing speed and accuracy requires carefully considered trade-offs to achieve plausible results and acceptable framerates.

We present a novel technique of supporting global illumination within the constraints of the new DirectX Raytracing (DXR) API used with DirectX 12. By pre-computing spherical textures to approximate the diffuse color of dynamic objects, we build a smaller set of approximate geometry used for …

Effectiveness Of Windrow Composting Methodology In Killing A Thermo-Tolerant Species Of Salmonella During Mortality Composting, Spencer Gabriel Myers

Master's Theses

In a large agricultural operation, such as the one at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, disposal of deceased animals is an immense issue. The cost of transporting and rendering every dead animal is inhibitory to the general function of the agricultural operations and their thin budget. Therefore, we propose that composting mortalities could be an economical alternative. Composting is a recognized method for taking animal waste products along with carbon waste and turning it into a pathogen-free, nutrient-rich topsoil. Carcass composting is in fact performed in other countries and states to varying degrees of success. However, the California EPA limits …

Suitability Of Cultivated Forms Of Native Shrubs To Support Pollinators, Jacob Gordon Ricker

Master's Theses

There is increased interest in native plants for landscaping to support pollinators. The majority of native plants sold by nurseries are cultivars. Some consumer and conservation groups question the suitability of native cultivars to support pollinators. This work evaluated insect pollinator visitation for six native shrub species, and one or more cultivars of each species. The following species were installed in a full sun field behind the University of Connecticut Floriculture Greenhouse Facility in a randomized complete block design with three replicates: Aronia melanocarpa, A. melanocarpa ‘UCONNAM012’ Ground Hog®, A. melanocarpa ‘UCONNAM165’ Low Scape Mound®, Clethra alnifolia, C. …

Desertification Assessment Using Medalus Method And Gis Techniques In North America Arid Environments, Essdik Bashir Habashi

Master's Theses

Desertification is a massive issue that affects many countries that have dry climates. The impacts of this phenomenon threaten the sustainability of natural resources, as well as agricultural, water, and food resources. Several factors that affect directly or indirectly desertification and making it worse are population growth, climate change, deforestation, overgrazing, natural disaster, and urbanization and other types of land development. This thesis research evaluated the desertification index in three counties in California State and three counties in New Mexico State by using the MEDALUS model (Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use) within a geographic information system (GIS). The model includes …

Adolescent Binge Alcohol Exposure Effects On Heart Structure And Function, Lizhuo Ai

Master's Theses

More than 5 million underage Americans report binge drinking at least once per month. While the effects of alcohol consumption on the adult heart have been well studied, the impact to the adolescent heart is almost entirely unknown. Adolescents primarily consume alcohol in a binge pattern, which elevates blood alcohol content (BAC) to 0.08 g/dL within 2 hours. During adolescence the body grows rapidly, and the heart must also grow by cellular hypertrophy to meet this increasing demand. Our goal was to determine the impact of adolescent binge alcohol exposure on the heart, using an outbred rat model. This thesis …

California Livestock Owners: An Assessment Of Familiarity With New Antimicrobial Rules And Access To Educational Outreach, Philip Theodor Paulson

Master's Theses

The purpose of this research is to support the California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) with education and outreach about recent changes regarding antimicrobial use in livestock, and to enhance their emergency communications network. This was done by characterizing a population of small-scale livestock owners underserved with regards to educational outreach about animal health issues, such as antimicrobial use rules. The project also seeks to enhance public understanding of the importance of responsible antimicrobial use in animal and human health.

To accomplish this, the study used a survey administered in person at local farm supply stores and online to …

Dissecting A Role For Polyamines In Rift Valley Fever Virus Infection, Vincent Mastrodomenico

Master's Theses

Bunyaviruses are emerging viral pathogens that cause encephalitis, hemorrhagic fevers, and meningitis. Rift Valley fever virus is a particularly devastating bunyavirus, infecting both humans and livestock with significant morbidity and mortality. By coordinating several host and viral processes Rift Valley fever virus is able to produce infectious virions. Polyamines are small, positively-charged host-derived molecules that play diverse roles in human cells and in infection. We previously demonstrated that polyamines are crucial for RNA viruses; however, the mechanisms by which polyamines function remain unknown. Here, we investigated polyamines' role in the replication of the Rift Valley fever virus (vaccine strain MP-12). …

Habitat Associations And Community Interactions Of Non-Native Species In The Southern Basin Of Lake Michigan, Erin O'Shaughnessey

Master's Theses

Non-native crayfishes, mollusks, and macrophytes can have large impacts on biodiversity and damage ecosystem services in freshwaters. In 2015 we discovered an established population of the globally widespread invader red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) in the North Shore Channel of the Chicago Area Waterway System. This population overlaps with a population of rusty crayfish (Faxonius rusticus), a previous invader that is widely distributed and usually the dominant crayfish species across the Great Lakes region. I studied the interactions between these two species while directly competing over shelter and food. In the field, each species was studied to determine the rate …

Zero Tolerance And Self Image: A Systematic Literature Review, Caitlyn Todd

Master's Theses

The use of zero tolerance disciplinary policies in schools have numerous, lasting impacts on children, particularly African American students. This study relies on the use of a systematic literature review to analyze prior data on what these effects are. The study found that the effects include, but are not limited to, destruction of self confidence, increased recidivism, and lastly further psychological issues, all of which contribute to the likelihood of having a poor self image. These findings play are role in the discussion of other, more equitable, styles of discipline, such as restorative justice, as a way to help remedy …

A Possible Role Of Clostridium Difficile Association With The Gi Tract In Relapsing Clostridium Difficile Infection, Asiyya Ashraf

Master's Theses

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), caused by the anaerobic spore-former C. difficile, is a major cause of health-care associated morbidity. CDI occurs in individuals that have a disrupted GI tract microbiota, typically in patients who are on antibiotic therapy. After recovery from an episode of CDI, approximately, 15-30% of patients experience relapse of disease. The mechanism of relapse is not well understood. It is plausible for relapse to occur if C. difficile cells and spores associate with the GI tract mucosa during infection and persist after infection. However, little is known about the association of cells and spores with the GI …

Molecular And Biochemical Phenotypes Underlying Reactive Astrocytosis In Primary Optic Nerve Head Astrocytes, Anita Kirti Ghosh

Master's Theses

Glaucoma is a progressive optic neuropathy that manifests in a pathological triad of optic nerve head remodeling, damage to optic nerve axons, and retinal ganglion cell death. Optic nerve head astrocytes (ONHAs) are the primary cell type in the optic nerve head. ONHAs undergo reactive astrocytosis, an activated phenotype characterized by altered gene and protein expression and increased cell migration and proliferation, early in the disease pathology. Reactive astrocytosis is thought to underlie optic nerve head remodeling. The first goal of this thesis was to determine if exposure of primary adult rat ONHAs to hyperbaric pressure (25-30 mm Hg above …

When Archaeology Interacted With The Bible: A Study Of The Search For The City Of Raamses Of Exodus 1:11 In The Searcher's Socio Political Context, Georg Filippou

Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis is twofold. First, I will research what a selected group of authors and scholars has stated regarding their search for the biblical city of Raamses. 3 This step will involve research of the motive of those researchers who attempted to match Raamses of Exod 1:11 with geographical locations in Egypt, to follow their search within the social and political context of these scholars. Second, based on these scholars’ research, I will attempt to discover what happened when Bible and archaeology interacted in the search for the city of Raamses.

The study begins with some pages …

Assessment Of Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus Catenatus) In Berrien County Historical Sites, Roshelle M. Hall

Master's Theses

The Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus; EMR) is a small robust pit viper currently found in nine states and the province of Ontario, Canada. Wetland habitats have experienced significant destruction and fragmentation by humans; as a result, the current distribution of the EMR is a fraction of its historic distribution. For this reason, the EMR has been federally listed as threatened. In general, little is known about the current distribution of this rattlesnake (in the southwest corner of Michigan, the size of local populations or their stability and genetic diversity. Much of this knowledge is based upon historical data. My …

A Narrative Analysis Of Genesis 3:1-7 And The Theological Significance Of The Serpent, Milton Gonzalez

Master's Theses

Problem

The Christian tradition of the Fall as it relates to Gen 3 is an interpretive construct that is foreign to the text and its immediate context. While scholars continue to view humanity and its fallen state as the central theme of the narrative, I suggest that such are but second to an even greater narrative—namely, a cosmic conflict between Elohim—the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and the serpent.

Method

The first chapter of this study considers the traditional view of the temptation narrative (i.e. Gen 3:1-7) as the Fall of Man and suggests that the story of …

A Biblical Overview Of The Concept Of Fruit With An Emphasis On The "Fruit Of The Spirit" In Galatians 5, Timothy Selinger

Master's Theses

Problem

The topic of the Holy Spirit and especially the meaning of "being filled with the Spirit" is a relevant topic. Generally, it is thought to be related to miracles, healings, and explosive church growth among Adventists or to speaking in tongues and other manifestations, especially among Charismatic Christians. Few identify the fullness of the Spirit with holiness of character. In Paul, the presence of the Spirit in the life of the believer results in the presence of the "fruit of the Spirit" (Gal 5:22). Just like an apple tree produces apples, a person filled with the Spirit will produce …

The Impact Of Environmental Degradation On The Analysis Of Manufactured Fibers, Alexis R. Weber

Master's Theses

The analysis of fiber evidence involves the ability to link a questioned fiber back to its known source. But before the collection and analysis of questioned fibers, they could be potentially exposed to various environmental conditions for an extended period of time. There has been little research on how manufactured fibers are affected by various environments and if this interaction affects the ability to link a questioned fiber back to its known source. Changes to the manufactured fibers are essential to be aware of, in order to avoid the possibility of erroneous exclusions when performing fiber comparisons. A six-month time …

Infection Control In Total Knee Replacement Prosthesis Using Nitric Oxide Releasing Biomaterials, Ashley Widing

Master's Theses

Replacing a weight-bearing joint is accompanied by long procedures, even longer recovery times, and intensive monitoring. This burden increases after infection; a complication requiring revision surgeries and therefore extensive additional recovery time. Infection can present itself at any time during the process, making it hard to predict. Currently, a two-part revision surgery is completed by removing all infected tissue and implanting an antibiotic spacer. The spacer fills the joint gap and is removed prior to the revision total knee replacement. A revision total knee replacement follows the same procedure as the initial surgery. Not only is this detrimental to patient …

El Cine De Honduras: El Neorrealismo, El Expresionismo Y La Transformacion Social En Los Filmes De Sami Kafati E Hispano Duron, David Joseph Inczauskis

Master's Theses

Sami Kafati e Hispano Durón son dos de los directores más importantes en la historia del cine hondureño, pero sus obras han recibido poca atención académica. De hecho, muchos investigadores ignoran el cine hondureño por completo. Este estudio define algunas características esenciales de la historia fílmica del país al argumentar que tendencias neorrealistas y expresionistas captan los deseos de los directores de describir las fuerzas estructurales opresivas en Honduras, retratar la angustia que estas fuerzas producen y utilizar esta angustia para alentar al espectador a transformar la nación hacia la justicia social y la equidad de género.

Seasonal Diet Variation In Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel (Ictidomys Tridecemlineatus) In Southernwestern Michigan, Austin Menzmer

Master's Theses

Thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) are omnivorous ground squirrels that range from Texas to Alberta and from Michigan to Utah. The amount and type of both animal and plant matter in their diet may vary both geographically and seasonally. The present study was motivated by prior work, based on δ13C analysis of incisor enamel of thirteen-lined ground squirrels from a colony in southwestern Michigan, suggesting that these animals underwent a pronounced, late-season shift in diet from predominantly C3 to C4 plants. However, this inferred dietary shift was not directly demonstrated. Here, I tracked diet of thirteen-lined ground squirrels in southwestern …

Testosterone Replacement Therapy For The Recovery From Chronic Vestibular Dysfunction Following Repeat Mild Traumatic Brain Injury In Male Long-Evans Hooded Rats, Arthur Segismundo

Master's Theses

Repeat mild traumatic brain injury (rmTBI) is a major public health concern leading to both chronic hypogonadism and vestibular impairment. Following rmTBI, vestibular symptoms are one of the most common complaints and hypogonadism occurs in a majority of patients. Gonadal hormones have a well-established role in neuroplasticity and axonal regeneration. The loss of gonadal hormones due to rmTBI may delay recovery. A clinically relevant closed-headed rmTBI male rodent model was utilized to examine the role of testosterone replacement therapy on chronic vestibular dysfunction. This is the first study to demonstrate both hypogonadism and vestibular dysfunction in the acute and chronic …

Microplastic In Aquatic Food Webs: Museum Specimens And Ingestion Experiments Reveal Controls On Microplastic Ingestion By Freshwater Fish, Loren Hou

Master's Theses

Plastic is pervasive in modern economies and ecosystems. Early research suggests freshwater fish commonly ingest microplastic (particles < 5 mm), which may influence fish digestive tissues, but no studies have examined historical patterns in microplastic consumption or rates of microplastic retention in fish. We measured microplastic in digestive tissue of specimens collected and preserved over the last century (Field Museum, Chicago). We selected Micropterus salmoides (largemouth bass), Notropis stramineus (sand shiner), Ictalurus punctatus (channel catfish), and Neogobius melanostomus (round goby) because each was well represented in the museum collection, with specimens from urban rivers. Specimens from 1900-2018 showed increases in microplastic concentration from the 1950's to present. in a second project, we collected round gobies from Lake Michigan in Chicago to conduct feeding experiments to measure microplastic ingestion and retention rates. the majority of microplastic was excreted within 72 hours of ingestion. Results will aid in understanding ecological interactions of microplastic and freshwater fish, informing further work on the movement of microplastic in aquatic food webs.

Different Methods Of Embodied Cognition In Pedagogy And Its Effectiveness In Student Learning, Cassandra Durkee

Master's Theses

The Mathematical Ideas Analysis hypothesizes that abstract mathematical reasoning is unconsciously organized and integrated with sensory-motor experience. Basic research testing movement, language, and perception during math problem solving supports this hypothesis. Applied research primarily measures students’ performance on math tests after they engage in analogous sensory-motor tasks, but findings show mixed results. Sensory-motor tasks are dependent on several moderators (e.g., instructional guidance, developmental stage) known to help students learn, and studies vary in how each moderator is implemented. There is little research on the effectiveness of sensory-motor tasks without these moderators. This study compares different approaches to working with an …

Assessment Of Peregrine Falcon (Falco Peregrinus Anatum) Nesting Habitat In The San Francisco Bay Area, Prabha Venu

Master's Theses

Human encroachment into natural environments fragments and degrades the habitat for many species and raptors such as the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) have adapted to the urban environment, co-existing with humans and other wildlife. The habitat preference of the American peregrine falcon subpopulation, F. p. anatum was investigated in the densely urbanized San Francisco Bay Area. In this research, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications to evaluate ten environmental attributes and their influence on 47 nesting sites were used. Distances from peregrine falcon nesting sites to two federally listed prey species the California least tern (Sterna antillarum browni) and the western …