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Tissue Engineering A Blood Vessel Mimic While Monitoring Contamination Through Sterility Assurance Testing, Navid Djassemi

Master's Theses

Tissue Engineering A Blood Vessel Mimic While Monitoring Contamination Through Sterility Assurance Testing

Navid Djassemi

Tissue engineering blood vessel mimics has been proposed as a method to analyze the endothelial cell response to intravascular devices that are used in today’s clinical settings for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Thus, the development of in vitro blood vessel mimics (BVMs) in Cal Poly’s Tissue Engineering Lab has introduced the possibility of assessing the characteristics of cellular response to past, present, and future intravascular devices that aim at treating coronary artery disease.

This thesis aimed at improving the methods and procedures utilized in …

Characterization Of Tight Junction Formation In An In-Vitro Model Of The Blood-Brain Barrier, Michael Robert Machado

Master's Theses

Active and passive transport of substances between the microcirculation in the brain and the central nervous system is regulated by the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB). This barrier allows for chronic and acute modulation of the CNS microenvironment, and protects the brain from potentially noxious compounds carried in the circulatory system. In-vitro modeling of the BBB has become the target of much research over the past decade, as there are many unanswered questions regarding modulations in the permeability of this barrier. Additionally, the development of a practical and inexpensive model of the BBB would facilitate a much more efficient drug development process. …

Evaluation Of Viability Of Lactobacillus Acidophilus La-5 During Simulated Digestion Process Using A Dynamic In Vitro Model, Jenifer Tharani

Master's Theses

In recent years, there has been an upsurge in medical research assessing the therapeutic benefits of probiotic bacteria and growing commercial interest in food fortification with these bacteria. Probiotic bacteria such as L. acidophilus are known to be predominant Lactobacilli species in the intestinal tract of healthy humans and suggested to provide clinical health benefits such as enhancement of immunity against intestinal infections, prevention of diarrhea and hypercholesterolaemia and improvement in lactose utilization. Many studies have demonstrated the possibility of incorporating probiotic bacteria in an ice cream matrix and shown its viability can be maintained throughout the shelf life of …

(Re)Defining < Marriage >: An Autohistoria Of An Ideograph, Robert Gutierrez

Master's Theses

This study explores as an ideograph in the law and everyday life through an analysis of private and public texts and embodied acts. The purpose of this study was to engage intersectionally as a power structure with wide-ranging influence over society to locate resistance. Utilizing rhetorical methods, this work examined archives and repertoires through an autohistoria of a queer Chicano male before the passage of Proposition 8, the California Constitutional Amendment that banned for LGBTQ couples. By exploring through metaphors and performative writing, this study constructs in the tradition of the shaman to present new possibilities for and queer theory.

The Role Of Language In Shaping The International Cultural Tourism Experience Of Student-Travelers, Avina Ramnani

Master's Theses

This qualitative, exploratory study sought insight into how language affects the cultural tourism experience in the international tourism context. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews of 13 student-travelers, who traveled with the San Jose State University's study-abroad programs. The analysis of the data was carried out within a socio-linguistic context using grounded theory methods. Findings indicated that travel motivations and the perception of significance of the language spoken at a destination were intimately connected. Further, the desire on the part of the student-travelers to experience the local culture affected the desire for interaction with the host population, which was in …

Mental Arithmetic Across Three Language Groups, Tianyu Luo

Master's Theses

Mental arithmetic performance was investigated among three language groups (English monolinguals, Chinese-English bilinguals, and Spanish-English bilinguals). Participants solved both small and large numerosity arithmetic problems in addition and multiplication and reported their solution strategies. All groups performed better in small problems than in large ones and better in addition than in multiplication, especially for a large size set. The results revealed all three groups performed equally well in solving problems correctly. Spanish-English bilinguals were equivalent to their English monolingual peers. However, Chinese-English bilinguals outperformed the other two groups in solution speed, especially when problems consisted of large numbers. No group …

Mexican Photography Collected: Graciela Iturbide And Tina Modotti, Camille F. Porter

Master's Theses

The act of collecting has increasingly become a focus of art historians in the last

thirty years. Susan Pearce, Mieke Bal, Bruce Althuser and other scholars have written

theoretical perspectives illuminating the ways in which the collecting of art influences the identity of a particular collector and in turn the ways in which the process of collecting art itself attaches meanings to objects.

In the last twenty years, there has been a surge in the collecting of Mexican

photography dating from the 1920s to the contemporary period. Mexican photography

has a long history of being at once an art form …

Differences In Body Image: Comparing Asian American Ethnic Groups And White Americans, Alefiyah Z. Pishori

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Assessing Landscape Change In Western Honduras, 1957-2010, Eric Lenhardt Mcgregor

Master's Theses

Human impacts on environmental conditions have long concerned researchers investigating changing forest conditions in the world's tropical regions. This thesis uses repeat photography, satellite imagery, and quantitative spatial statistics to evaluate landscape change in western Honduras between 1957 and 2010, and specifically focuses on changes in tree cover. Results from repeat photography and satellite classification show an increase in tree cover. Spatial statistics indicate that increases in shade coffee production may also be related to much of the observed increases in tree cover. Forest transition theory is used as a framework to help explain the observed changes, such as dooryard …

Decontamination Of Endodontic Gutta-Percha: An In-Vitro Study, Mariya Shnaydman

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Healthcare Needs Of Patients In Rural Kaduna, Nigeria, Jaime Stevens

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

'Better Make It A Double': Perceived Relatedness Increases Reported Attractiveness, Benjamin R. Ainley

Master's Theses

Sexual selection shaped psychological mechanisms in both sexes to assess potential mates for evidence of mate quality (Buss, 2005). Attraction preferences are one such mechanism (Sugiyama, 2005) and physical attraction preferences are sensitive to fitness-promoting traits present in a potential mate. Physically attractive traits are thought to act as signals of good genetic quality (Neff & Pitcher, 2005) and are preferred because of the advantage such quality bestows towards reproductive success. Specifically, genetic quality is proposed to be a biological requirement necessary for physically attractive traits to develop and be maintained (Johnstone & Grafen, 1993). Furthermore, genetic quality is heritable …

Principals Attitudes Toward Inclusion In Dubai Public Schools: Where Do They Stand?, Fouzia Usman

Master's Theses

Inclusion in the UAE has been a concern for many over the years and lately, has gained the attention at national level. Through this study, the researcher confines the research within Dubai only and looks forward to the responses and expects that the results will be used as a guideline to enhance special education services in a fast developing city such as Dubai.

This study discusses the purpose of the study, available literature and research conducted on the topic, sample population, instrumentation, and procedure and data analysis techniques to carry out the research. Based on that, primary research questions are …

Being In The Know: Punk, Confrontation, And The Process Of Validating Truth Claims, Christopher Richard Penna

Master's Theses

Since the birth of punk, it has been a harbinger of trends within both youth culture and what cultural theorist Theodor Adorno calls the "culture industry" (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1947; Adorno, 1971). However, punk has never been fully embraced by the culture industry, largely, by design. Punk arose as a response, borne out of the frustration of a stagnant world that values profit over people (Sabin, 1999, p. 3). Present within opposition is confrontation--which is the very nature of punk. This thesis seeks to exemplify how punk uses confrontation as the instrument through which punk comes to know truths. The …

A Survey Of Female Characters As Flâneuses And Their Interactions With Modernity In Early Modern British Literature, Thao Thi Nguyen

Master's Theses

This thesis argues that the flâneuse is present in literature well before the late nineteenth century. Similar to Charles Baudelaire's flâneur figure, the flâneuse herself is an observer of modernity. Through her interactions with the crowd, the flâneuse is able to read the urban landscape. Chapter One focuses on defining the historical context of when the term flâneur appears in critical discourse. Chapter Two introduces the first example of a flâneuse: the narrator of Isabella Whitney's poem "Will and Testament." It focuses on how the narrator offers a reading of London in flux, its attractions as well as its growing …

Indigenous Intercultural Universities In Latin America: Interpreting Interculturalism In Mexico And Bolivia, Luciano Pedota

Master's Theses

The newly created Indigenous Intercultural Universities in Latin America challenge the conventional conception of universities and their "universal" quality. Such universities seek to decolonize knowledge by generating knowledge that is relevant to the communities in which they are located. These intentions, however, do not necessarily exclude the knowledge and research methods imparted by long-established Western universities. Instead, they have been conceived as Intercultural institutions designed to train indigenous community leaders capable of hybridizing or carrying out a "dialogue of knowledges"(Mato, 2007) and research methods of what are ultimately two different, and often times, opposing and contentious paradigms, one stemming from …

No Little Plans: Envisioning The Bay Area Rapid Transit System And The Renewal Of Rapid Transit In The United States, Jake Coolidge

Master's Theses

Cities across the United States and Canada in the years following the Second World War witnessed reinvigorated efforts to construct rapid transit systems despite a decades-long decline in transit patronage, and central to these efforts was the visionary plan for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District. The proponents of these new systems used their initial plans and feasibility studies to articulate a new vision for rapid transit, one that imagined rapid transit not merely as a practical transportation solution, but as a technologically advanced tool for reshaping urban regions. This evolving vision emerges in an examination of …

"For Such Is A Friend Now": Reflection And Revision In Shakespeare's Comic Friendships, Leah Rainell Boudreaux

Master's Theses

In early modem England, "friendship" was a term both flexible and deeply fraught. It could apply to a wide range of relationships, including, for example, those between family members, lords and tenants, or male members of the aristocracy. The ideals associated with friendship at that time had a profound impact on the way that the relationship was represented both in a historical and literary sense. During that time, William Shakespeare crafted remarkable and resonating depictions of friendship which have endured the through the ages. The distinction between Shakespeare's work and the work of other early modem writers lies in the …

Igniting The Creative Process: A Contemporary Approach Through Play, Personal Narrative, And Universal Themes, Jennifer Montgomery Mclees

Master's Theses

This thesis examined over the course of five years the creative process and the underlying themes informing my personal body of work in clay. I designed a frame- work for implementing similar practices in the creative process and resulting ideas of my high school art students. Developmental practices focused on the use of play, exploration of personal narrative, and introduction of universal themes and post- modern concepts, which were grounded in contemporary studio art making and art education studies. Using methods of conceptual development grounded in these three approaches to developing the creative process facilitated the development of a personal …

Marketing Latin Alternative Music Through Social Networking Sites, Vanessa Ursala Garcia

Master's Theses

This thesis examined the marketing strategies for Latin alternative music used on MySpace, Facebook, and Al Borde (On the Edge). This study found that the understanding of the target demographic was important for implementing successful marketing strategies to niche audiences. Marketing Latin alternative music has not been successful at a mainstream level; therefore, marketers have targeted niche communities on social networking sites. The most dominant strategy used involved the status update feature on Facebook. It allowed musicians and marketers to communicate information and media to a large network of individuals across the country. Three other major strategies included event invitations, …

Recess Policy In Chicago Public Schools: 1855-2006, Laura Ann Wurzburger

Master's Theses

The history of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) recess policy has been marked by long periods of consistency. However, in the last two decades the history of recess policy has changed significantly. Beginning in the mid-19th century, the Board of Education required one to two recess sessions per day in primary or elementary schools. This is in stark contrast to the 1991 policy which eliminated recess entirely for seven years. In 1998 there was another policy shift which is still in effect today. This policy allows individual principals and their local school councils to determine how to allocate their daily schedule. …

Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (Lscm): An Application For The Detection Of Morphological Alterations In Skin Structure, Shea C. Smith

Master's Theses

Laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) is an optical imaging technique that provides improved resolution and sensitivity over conventional methods of optical microscopy. However, the cost of most commercial LSCM systems exceeds the financial limitations of many smaller laboratories. The design of a custom LSCM created at a fraction of the cost of a commercial model is discussed in this paper.

The increase in the incidence rate of skin cancer in the world today is alarming, as such, it is essential to provide an early, rapid and effective method for in vivo diagnostics of human skin tissue. LSCM is capable of …

Highly Identified Females Athletes' Retirement From Collegiate Sport, Christy Taylor Richardson

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

A Cross-Cultural Comparison Of U.S. And Taiwanese Print Advertising Strategy, Chun-Lin Wu

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Implications Of Social Support And Culture In The Context Of Work-Related Stress, Maria Amren

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Portrayals Of Motherhood In Four Women's Magazines: 1985 And 2009., Kristen A. Sato

Master's Theses

This thesis concerns representations of women as mothers in women's magazines during 1985 and 2009. It analyzes the images, symbols, and textual messages within the advertisements of these magazines. Gender roles and gender scripts for women during the respective years are then considered with the collected data, in order to contrast portrayals of mothers in the advertisements against aspects of actual motherhood.

A Qualitative Exploration Of Health Beliefs Among Midlife Filipino American Women In California, Lorneneth Merana

Master's Theses

Research pertaining to Filipino American health issues is growing but most remain delimited to children, college students, and older adults. The purpose of this study was two-fold. The first was to define the health beliefs of four Filipino American women who were in midlife through in-depth one-on-one interviews regarding cardiovascular diseases and in utilizing health care to prevent, diagnose, or treat those diseases. The second purpose was to conceptualize potential links between the health beliefs of those Filipino American women and their attitudes or choices about health care utilization.

Conclusively, the health beliefs of the four midlife Filipino-American women in …

A Comparative Analysis Of A Japanese Film And Its American Remake, Shogo Miura

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Social Support And Facet Satisfaction Across Cultures, Jeffrey Paul Berlin

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Buddhas & Bratwurst: Ethical Identity In Global Contexts, Patrick Mcdonnell

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis