Digital Commons Network^™

Dance For Special Needs Students: Building Confidence And Motor Skills, Jennifer Monique Dabalsa

Master's Theses

Participating in a dance class is influential in the development of young people’s creative, imaginative, individual, and communicative skills. The use of dance within a classroom increases physical fitness, enriches motor skills, coordination, and enhances social skills. Dance also increases muscular endurance, builds balance, as well as encourages teamwork and group skills. Most, if not all individuals crave to be socially accepted on some level. Many individuals with special needs are limited in verbal communication, or they are completely non-verbal. Connecting to individuals with these types of limitations proves to be challenging in comparison with a typical abled bodied individual. …

Determining The Effectiveness Of The Cancer Phase Training Model In A Group Setting, Scott F. Eberhardt

Master's Theses

The role of exercise as a primary therapy has been well documented and has the capacity to act across multiple body systems to attenuate cancer-related toxicities. To date, the Cancer Phase Training Model is the only cancer rehabilitation intervention that includes recommended modes, intensity, frequency, and duration of exercise for cancer survivors. The one-on-one model has been shown to be the most effective method of cancer rehabilitation; however the largest perceived limitation of this model is the expense of the program and its lack of scalability. By creating a structured cancer specific group model that can produce similar results to …

Appearance And Spectroscopic Characterization Of Automotive Coatings For Forensic Purposes, Kimberly Kha

Master's Theses

Automotive paint is a common type of trace evidence in the forensics community due to the prevalence of vehicular collisions. Forensic examinations of these samples typically involve visual inspection for physical properties such as color. However, these observations are subject to variability due to observer and environmental factors. Therefore, objective methods of color description based on spectrophotometry using coordinate systems are now recommended by US forensics standards in addition to chemical analysis for binder and pigment information. Color meters and microspectrophotometers (MSP) are common instruments for quantifying color descriptions using opponent coordinate systems such as the International Commission on Illumination …

The Role Of Pain Persistence In The Association Between Negative Urgency And Suicidal Behavior, Hyejin Jin

Master's Theses

Impulsivity has been identified as an important component of suicidal behavior (Mann et al., 1999) but the relationship has been shown to be indirect through painful and provocative events (PPEs; Bender, Gordon, Bresin, Joiner, 2011). Negative urgency (NU) is a subscale of impulsivity (Cyders et al., 2007) that has been associated with high engagement of PPEs such as non-suicidal self-injury because individuals high in NU are highly motivated to eliminate the aversive emotion (Anestis & Joiner, 2011). Past research found that repeated PPEs may increase the capability for suicide by changing how one responds to pain, thereby increasing their pain …

Combined Effects Of Dissolved Oxygen And Temperature On Aerobic Respiration And Respiratory Recovery Responses Of The Spioniform Polychaete, Streblospio Gynobranchiata, In Relation To Body Size, Alyssa Bennett

Master's Theses

Elevated surface temperatures exacerbate the threat of hypoxia within coastal ecosystems. These two primary stressors likely interact as they elicit opposing physiological responses from marine organisms. Metabolic depression is typically associated with hypoxia, while metabolic rates increase with temperature. Moreover, physiological effects of combined stressors may not be additive. In light of increasing pressures from hypoxia, elevated ocean temperatures, and other stressors within coastal regions, studies need to examine effects of multiple stressors on physiology of coastal organisms.

Mass-specific aerobic respiration (V_O2) was characterized as a proxy for metabolic cost of Streblospio gynobranchiata, at combined levels of …

Women In Wartime Shipyards: Operating A Drill Press Was Like Using An Egg Beater, Carol A. Strohmetz

Master's Theses

This research examines the duality of the roles of American women during World War II. The research draws upon oral histories, newspaper accounts and advertisements, music and films of the time, letters and family scrapbooks, and primary and secondary sources. Most prior research focuses on either women in the workforce or women in the home. This research synthesizes all aspects of the lives of women as they navigated the hostile terrain of the male workforce and continued to perform the duties assigned to them by society. This research highlights the multiple roles that women successfully executed as they cared for …

The Prevalence Of Overweight And Obesity Among Adolescents With Chronic Health Conditions, Catherine Levy

Master's Theses

Overweight and obesity during adolescence is a primary public health concern as these conditions are associated with several chronic health conditions (cardiovascular disease, Type II Diabetes, etc.) that can affect individuals into adulthood. The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) to examine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents with chronic health conditions; and 2) To examine the odds of physical activity and sedentary behaviors in adolescents with chronic health conditions, viewing whether the presence of chronic health conditions impact PA and sedentary behaviors.

Analyses included 28,778 adolescents aged 10-17 from the 2011-12 National Survey of Children’s Heath. …

A Microdebitage Analysis Of The Winterville Mounds Site (22ws500), Stephanie Leigh-Ann Guest

Master's Theses

The Winterville Mounds site (22WS500) was a civic ceremonial center of 23 mounds and is located near Greenville in northwest Mississippi. Winterville excavations as field schools are ongoing since 2005 under the direction of Dr. H. Edwin Jackson of The University of Southern Mississippi. Examination of the >1/4" (6.35 mm) mesh screened lithic material provided mixed results of reduction stages and lacked variety of non-local materials (Guest 2006, Winter 2009, McClendon 2012). Authors of these analyses called for the examination of the 1/16” (1.58 mm) water-screened lithic material to identify reduction stages and traces of non-local materials to provide evidence …

"And A Sad Ditty Of This Story Born": Regeneration Through Decay In John Keats's Isabella, Erica Van Schaik

Master's Theses

John Keats’s Isabella; or the Pot of Basil (1818) has been read, like many of Keats’s of works, as an allegory for the death that surrounded the poet and his life’s tragic circumstances. Isabella has also been studied in regard to its gothic horror elements. Such previous readings identify a theme of mortality and decay within the poem, but I argue these themes serve a larger purpose, one related to the possibilities created by regeneration. Isabella, a young woman whose lover, Lorenzo, is murdered by her own brothers, removes Lorenzo’s head from his corpse and places it in a potted …

A Neuroprotective Role For Mir-1017, A Non-Canonical Mirna, Matthew De Cruz

Master's Theses

miRNAs are post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression, with numerous being involved in neurobiology. Within the human genome a quarter of the identified miRNA loci derive from a class of miRNAs termed tailed mirtrons. Despite the identification of this large population of miRNA, no functional studies have been conducted to identify their role. In this study we examined the highly expressed and deeply conserved Drosophila 3’ tail mirtron, miR-1017, as a candidate to elucidate tailed mirtron functionality. We identified acetylcholine receptor transcripts, Da5 and Da2, as bona fide targets for miR-1017. Interestingly, Da2 is also the host transcript for miR-1017. We …

Impacts Of Oil Exposure During Early Life Development Stages In Sheepshead Minnows (Cyprinodon Variegatus) Under Different Environmental Factors, Danielle Simning

Master's Theses

The release of approximately 5 million barrels of crude oil into the northern Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill jeopardized estuarine ecosystem health from Texas to Florida. These estuarine habitats, which serve as nurseries for many important fisheries are also prone to rapid fluctuations in environmental stressors such as oxygen concentration, and salinity. The consequence of combined exposure to crude oil and suboptimal environmental factors during early life stage development of fish is still largely unknown. The objective of this project was to investigate the impacts of exposure to crude oil in combination with varying environmental …

Sex Differences In Collateral Remodeling Following Hindlimb Arterial Occlusion, Laura Burckhardt

Master's Theses

Clinical evidence indicates a higher incidence of peripheral arterial occlusive disease and associated likelihood of critical limb ischemia in women, as well as worse prognosis and decreased survival post myocardial infarction. Therefore, understanding the possible differences in underlying vascular compensation mechanisms is crucial. With arterial occlusions, necrosis and tissue injury can be naturally mitigated by the collateral circulation, improving patient prognosis. Previous sex-comparison studies describing differences in vascular remodeling are inconsistent. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the effect of arterial occlusion on collateral remodeling in healthy male and healthy reproductive-stage female mice. At 7 days following …

Let's Talk Story: Waikiki And Its Social Displacements In Oral Histories And Print, 1901–1935, Alika Bourgette

Master's Theses

The everyday experiences of Waikiki’s residents of color often escaped official and semi-official records of historical events. When concerning Native Hawaiians and other nonwhite peoples, haole elite journalists and policymakers viewed their land, possessions, and bodies as opportunities for the cultural commodification, sexualization, and reimagination. As part of the redevelopment efforts of the Waikiki shoreline in the early twentieth century, state and commercial actors worked to affect the systematic erasure of Native Hawaiian and resident Asian spaces. This study utilizes extensive collections of oral histories from marginalized Waikiki residents of color to provide counterpoint to notions of indigenous passivity and …

Spatiotemporal Variability In The Macroinvertebrate Community Of A Small Coastal California Stream, Little Creek, Davenport, California, John Patrick Hardy

Master's Theses

Macroinvertebrate community structure was characterized along the channel gradient of a headwater stream in a coast redwood forest on Cal Poly’s Swanton Pacific Ranch in Davenport, California. The significance of physical habitat characteristics in describing macroinvertebrate assemblage structure was assessed in an effort to create a framework to better understand the expected biological response to riparian canopy manipulation. Seven study reaches were established in 2015. These study reaches were evenly spaced throughout the Little Creek watershed, an approximately 4.8 km² drainage characterized by steep inner-gorge areas and dense riparian vegetation. Macroinvertebrate samples were collected seasonally (i.e., spring, summer, and …

Influences Of Anthropogenic Noise On Flight Initiation Distance, Foraging Behavior, And Feeder Community Structure Of Wild Birds, Alissa R. Petrelli

Master's Theses

Throughout the world, birds represent the primary type of wildlife that people experience on a daily basis. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that alterations to the acoustic environment can negatively affect birds as well as humans in a variety of ways, and altered acoustics from noise pollution has the potential to influence human interactions with wild birds. In this thesis, I investigated how anthropogenic noise impacts daily behavior as well as community structure of wild birds. In the first component of this thesis, I assessed the distance at which a bird initiates flight or escape behavior (i.e., flight …

Vibration Analysis Of A Wind Turbine Multi-Stage Planetary Gearbox Incorporating A Flexible Body Component, Tananant Boonya-Ananta

Master's Theses

The following thesis document researches into creating a model to represent the behavior of a wind turbine gearbox. This model is developed based on the overall parameters of a NORDEX N90 2.5MW wind turbine developed by a German company Nordex SE. This research focuses on the combination of a flexible body and a multibody dynamics analysis software. This is done through the usage of MSC ADAMS, a multibody dynamic analysis program, and MSC Patran/Nastran, a finite element analysis software, and its associated solver. The model is created to show the vibration patterns of a healthy gearbox with rigid bodies, with …

Computer-Aided Diagnoses (Cad) System: An Artificial Neural Network Approach To Mri Analysis And Diagnosis Of Alzheimer's Disease (Ad), Berizohar Padilla Cerezo

Master's Theses

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic and progressive, irreversible syndrome that deteriorates the cognitive functions. Official death certificates of 2013 reported 84,767 deaths from Alzheimer’s disease, making it the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. The rate of AD is estimated to double by 2050. The neurodegeneration of AD occurs decades before symptoms of dementia are evident. Therefore, having an efficient methodology for the early and proper diagnosis can lead to more effective treatments.

Neuroimaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect changes in the brain of living subjects. Moreover, medical imaging techniques are the …

Improving Companion Ai Behavior In Mimica, Daniel Toy

Master's Theses

Companion characters are an important aspect of video games and appear in many different genres. Their role is typically to support the player as they progress through the game by helping to complete tasks or assisting in combat. However, oftentimes, these companion characters are limited in their ability to dynamically react to new situations and fail to properly assist the player.

In this paper, we present a solution by improving upon the MimicA framework, which allows companion characters to emulate the human player. The framework takes a learn by observation approach by storing the game state when the player performs …

Factors Associated With Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) Adherence Self-Efficacy Among High-Risk Drug Users In Treatment, Chanchala Tiwari

Master's Theses

Background: Recent studies on Pre-exposure prophylaxis treatment (PrEP) has received significant recognition as a promising preventive strategy among high-risk individuals. Although a significant amount of research has been conducted on willingness of PrEP use, and NCI as predictors of HIV risk behavior, no study to date, has explored the impact of various motivation factors along with the use of internet & technology devices and psychological aspects on PrEP adherence self-efficacy. So, the objectives of thesis analyses were to examine whether various motivation factors, psychological factors, and communication technology predicts PrEP adherence self-efficacy. Method: The study was conducted among 400 HIV-negative …

Selection Criteria And Referral Patterns Of Clinicians Utilizing Cbct At Uconn Health Center, Jenna Fewins

Master's Theses

The most recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA)/American Dental Association (ADA) guidelines on dental radiograph examinations were released in 2012.¹ Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a three dimensional radiographic exam first introduced in the in the early 2000s.⁷ In the 2012 guidelines, CBCT was excluded from the criteria; the guidelines were meant only for “standard dental imaging techniques of intraoral and common extraoral examinations, excluding cone-beam computed tomography.”¹

CBCT is in the armamentarium of radiographs utilized in general dentistry and can be ordered by a dentist, a dental specialist, or dental student. There is a large …

Enhancing Phylogenetic Resolution With Taxonomic And Geographic Characterization Of The Chilean Species Of The Cicada Genus Tettigades, Katherine Nazario

Master's Theses

The Patagonian cicada genus Tettigades, although abundant and diverse, was poorly documented until Torres (1958) reviewed the species of the genus, describing 17 new species and redescribing others. His review provided useful insights on variation and distribution of species in the genus. However, despite Torres’ efforts, some species descriptions remained vague and many lacked descriptions of morphological variation within or among populations.

The goal of this thesis is to compile, evaluate, and integrate previous work with new data to serve as a reference for future studies of this genus. Morphological, geographical, and molecular data are combined in order to treat …

Assessing The Effect Of Nutritional Interventions On Body Composition Changes During Pregnancy In Moderately Malnourished Malawian Women, Megan K. Kitagawa

Master's Theses

Background: Malnutrition can affect the body composition changes that occur in healthy pregnancy, resulting in adverse effects to both the mother and infant. Supplementary foods with high quality protein may result in more favorable changes in lean mass and fat mass in pregnant malnourished women.

Objective: To retrospectively assess changes in body composition in moderately malnourished pregnant Malawian women in response to one of three nutritional interventions.

Methods: Height, weight, MUAC, and TSF were measured in pregnant women with MUAC >20.6 cm and19) were compared using ANOVA. If differences were detected, differences between groups were tested using the Tukey HSD …

Immunohistochemistry And Electron Microscopy Of Rat Palatine Glands Development, Zaki Hakami

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Proteomic Analysis Of The Crustacean Molting Gland (Y-Organ) Over The Course Of The Molt Cycle, Talia B. Head

Master's Theses

Molting in crustaceans is a highly complex physiological process involving negative regulation by two paired endocrine glands, the X-organ/sinus gland complex (XO/SG) and the Y-organ (YO). The XO/SG complex is responsible for making molt-inhibiting hormone (MIH) which negatively regulates synthesis of the molting hormones, ecdysteroids, by the YO. Analysis of gene expression in the XOs and YOs has led to the development of a proposed molecular signaling pathway which regulates ecdysteroidogenesis and subsequent molting in crustaceans. In this study, changes in protein abundance in the YO were characterized over the course of a molt cycle (intermolt, early premolt, mid premolt, …

Sex Differences And The Effects Of Exercise Training On Functional Vasodilation Following Arterial Occlusion In The Balb/C Mouse Spinotrapezius, Britta Nelson

Master's Theses

Peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) often presents as intermittent claudication, which may be caused by impaired vasodilation. Impairment of resistance vessels may contribute to the pathogenesis of PAOD, and explain the poor correlation between resting blood flow and limb function. Collateral function following arterial occlusion is not well defined, however collaterals and arterialized collateral capillaries (ACCs) in male and female animal models exhibit impaired vasodilation following arterial occlusion, which can potentially be improved with exercise training. Furthermore, resistance vessels in the ischemic tree and stem are likely involved in the pathogenesis of PAOD, however the relative importance of each is …

Forest Densification Over 85 Years In A Sierra Nevada Mixed-Conifer Forest Decreases Conifer Regeneration And Limits Survival, Marissa A. Vossmer

Master's Theses

Forest densification in response to a century of fire suppression in Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forests has decreased conifer regeneration and survival. Increases in overstory biomass and decreases in canopy heterogeneity, along with decreases in shrub cover in the understory, has created unfavorable establishment site conditions for conifer species. Establishment site conditions are key in promoting germination and establishment of conifers seeds and in determining the survival of these seedlings into the overstory. These changes in establishment site suitability resulting from the removal of disturbance from these forests has decreased conifer regeneration and survival into other age classes. In Sierra …

Exploring The Relationship Of Urban Form And Mental Health In The 500 Largest Cities Of The United States, Daniel Sam Harrison

Master's Theses

Sustainable development efforts frequently focus on understanding and promoting the factors that influence health and wellbeing. Urban environments have received attention in recent years as spaces which can increase psychological distress. Despite hypothesized reports of urban environments being less conducive to good mental health then natural environments, few studies have investigated the effects of urban form characteristics (size, density, nuisances, transportation, and housing characteristics) and mental health measures at the city level. Using 2014 data from the 500 largest cities in the United States, this thesis evaluates the relationship between urban form and aggregate self-report scores of poor mental health. …

X Chromosome Dosage Compensation And Gene Expression In The Sheep, Kaleigh Flock

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Physicians’ Opinions On Connecticut’S Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, Carolyn Kwiat

Master's Theses

Background: The increase in prescription opiate misuse has become one of the largest public health crises facing the United States. Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) are large online databases that states use to monitor prescribing and filling of controlled drugs by physicians and pharmacies to identify patients who are misusing prescription drugs and to reduce the prevalence of opioids misuse. However, the literature is not conclusive as to whether or not PDMPs are effective in decreasing opioid misuse, and the rates of PDMP usage among physicians remains low, even in states where usage is mandatory.

Objectives: To investigate physicians' attitudes …

Key Differences Between Hepatic And Intestinal Apoc3 Regulation And Expression, And Implications For Cardiovascular Disease Risk, Gabrielle West

Master's Theses

In the intestine, apoC-III delays chylomicron secretion, and causes a decrease in chylomicron size. Once apoC-III is in circulation, apoC-III delays triglyceride-rich remnants clearance by inhibiting lipoprotein lipase and liver low-density lipoprotein receptor. In humans, high levels of plasma apoC-III directly result in hypertriglyceridemia. ApoC-III is a critical cardiovascular risk factor, and humans expressing null mutations in apoC-III are robustly protected from cardiovascular disease. Because of its critical role in elevating plasma lipids and CVD risk, the factors that regulate apoC-III expression in the liver have been determined, and include glucose, insulin (through FoxO1), and dietary fat. Considerably less is …