Digital Commons Network^™

Factors Affecting The Regrowth Of Ilex Glabra In A Routinely Burned Longleaf Forest, Jaybus Price

Master's Theses

This study examines the effects of historical management by use of prescribed fire on Ilex glabra stems/m² and factors affecting the regrowth of I. glabra after a prescribed burn to gain beneficial knowledge for management purposes. Environmental factors and morphological parameters of I. glabra were sampled before and after a prescribed burn of the Longleaf Trace Nature Preserve in September 2016. The study site is located in Lamar County, Mississippi, just west of Hattiesburg, MS. Stem densities of I. glabra were collected once before the prescribed burn and twice after the prescribed burn at 2 month and 9 month …

Natural Disasters And Attachment Quality: The Mediating Role Of Coping, Alexandra Teller

Master's Theses

Research shows a strong relationship between children’s exposure to a natural disaster, parental distress, and development of mental health problems. It is theorized that trauma-related parental distress is associated with maladaptive parenting behaviors, which negatively impact the psychological development of children. The long-term impact of trauma exposure from a natural disaster on parent-child relationship quality and mental health outcomes for emerging adults has only been minimally investigated. The use of adaptive coping strategies has been found to be helpful for preventing mental health problems, while maladaptive coping has been associated with the development of psychopathology. The present study examined the …

Spatial Variation In Basal Resources And Trophic Position Of Selected Fishes Of The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Christopher Fleming

Master's Theses

The North-central Gulf of Mexico is a complex hydrologic environment with freshwater influx that varies on spatial and temporal scales. Freshwater input exerts influence on the isotope values of organisms living in coastal ecosystems. The objectives of this study were to determine relationships between total length and isotope value, estimate basal resource usage and trophic position of target species from Mississippi Sound, reef, and pelagic environments, and identify differences and similarities in spatial patterns of collection. Muscle tissue samples were collected from October 2014 through September 2015. Stable isotope analysis identified a trophic gradient extending from nearshore to offshore, with …

Growth And Reproduction Of Atlantic Chub Mackerel (Scomber Colias) In The Northwest Atlantic, Taylor T. Daley

Master's Theses

Recent efforts to manage Atlantic Chub Mackerel (Scomber colias) in the northwest Atlantic have necessitated the description of the stocks life-history characteristics. The purpose of this study was to address the absence of regional information on growth and reproduction. Growth models were fit in a Bayesian framework. The length-at-age relationship was described using four non-linear candidate growth models, which were fit to total length (TL, cm) and age estimates (y). Age estimates were derived from whole otoliths for adults (n = 422) and ages of one month were assigned to larval fish (n = 60). The …

Interplay Of Dgat1, Pdat1 And Dgat2 Enzymes In Plant Triacylglycerol Assembly, Anushobha Regmi

Master's Theses

Acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) catalyzes the transesterification of fatty acid from acyl-CoA to diacylglycerol (DAG) forming triacylglycerol (TAG, a.k.a oils and fats). Most plants have at least two unrelated DGAT genes, DGAT1 and DGAT2. Plants predominantly express only one during oil synthesis; the reason, however is not clear. A few studies have indicated that each enzyme prefers DAG and acyl-CoA substrates with different fatty acid compositions. Industrially desirable seed oil composition can be obtained through genetic engineering by replacing the endogenous enzyme with one that has different substrate selectivity. In Arabidopsis thaliana, DGAT1 and another unrelated enzyme PDAT1 are essential …

Impact Of Prolonged Sitting On Cognitive Function: Implications For Cardio-Metabolic Risk, Sabina Miller

Master's Theses

Purpose: To determine if prolonged sitting negatively impacts cognitive function, cerebral perfusion, and central cardiovascular hemodynamics; and secondly, to test whether weight or physical activity status alters this response. Methods: Participants (N=20, age=26±7; BMI=30±7 kg/m²; 7 female) were taken through 3 hrs of sitting followed by a 10-min walk (treadmill). Cognitive function was assessed during sitting (10, 60, 120, and 180 mins) and following the walk using a color/word Stroop test. Cerebral perfusion was measured via near infrared spectroscopy (total hemoglobin—tHb). Central cardiovascular hemodynamics and aortic stiffness (pulse wave velocity—PWV) were measured using the SphygmoCor XCEL device before, …

Why Sing So Many Songs? Testing The Function Of Song Type Repertoires In Rock Wrens Using Playback Experiments And Behavioral Observations, Stephanie Marie Gobert Pitt

Master's Theses

Bird song has been studied extensively as a model of complex animal communication systems because of how various and flexible it is in certain species. Numerous researchers have investigated the evolutionary pressures leading to the elaboration of songs available in a bird’s repertoire and this topic is most often evaluated in light of sexual selection. Intersexual selection mechanisms such as female choice are often presumed to be very important in the elaboration of song, however literature reviews on the topic find no strong correlation between female preference for larger song repertoires and the presence of the characteristic in males across …

Improving Swarm Performance By Applying Machine Learning To A New Dynamic Survey, John Taylor Jackson

Master's Theses

A company, Unanimous AI, has created a software platform that allows individuals to come together as a group or a human swarm to make decisions. These human swarms amplify the decision-making capabilities of both the individuals and the group. One way Unanimous AI increases the swarm’s collective decision-making capabilities is by limiting the swarm to more informed individuals on the given topic. The previous way Unanimous AI selected users to enter the swarm was improved upon by a new methodology that is detailed in this study. This new methodology implements a new type of survey that collects data that is …

Knee Angles And Axes Crosstalk Correction In Gait, Cycling, And Elliptical Training Exercises, Jordan M. Skaro

Master's Theses

When conducting motion analysis using 3-dimensional motion capture technology, errors in marker placement on the knee results in a widely observed phenomenon known as “crosstalk” [1-18] in calculated knee joint angles (i.e., flexion-extension (FE), adduction-abduction (AA), internal-external rotation (IE)). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has recently been proposed as a post hoc method to reduce crosstalk errors and operates by minimizing the correlation between the knee angles [1, 2]. However, recent studies that have used PCA have neither considered exercises, such as cycling (C) and elliptical training (E), other than gait (G) nor estimated the corrected knee axes following PCA correction. …

An Empirical Study Of Css Code Smells In Web Frameworks, Tobias Paul Bleisch

Master's Theses

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) has become essential to front-end web development for the specification of style. But despite its simple syntax and the theoretical advantages attained through the separation of style from content and behavior, CSS authoring today is regarded as a complex task. As a result, developers are increasingly turning to CSS preprocessor languages and web frameworks to aid in development. However, previous studies show that even highly popular websites which are known to be developed with web frameworks contain CSS code smells such as duplicated rules and hard-coded values. Such code smells have the potential to cause adverse …

The Impacts Of Sex And Myogenic Cell Transplantation On Collateral Capillary Arteriogenesis, Padon Mary Sivesind

Master's Theses

Current treatments for peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) have limited success, so there is a need to develop more effective treatments. Because patients with native collaterals have a better prognosis, promoting collateral arteriogenesis is a potential PAOD treatment. Additionally, female PAOD patients have a worse response to treatment and a worse prognosis compared to males, which could be due to impaired collateralization. Cell transplantation is a potential treatment option to promote collateral arteriogenesis. Bone marrow derived stem cells are the main cell type that has been investigated, but they have had limited clinical success. Delivering a stem cell type native …

Powder Bed Surface Quality And Particle Size Distribution For Metal Additive Manufacturing And Comparison With Discrete Element Model, Irene Yee

Master's Theses

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) can produce complex parts that were once considered impossible or too costly to fabricate using conventional machining techniques, making AM machines an exceptional tool for rapid prototyping, one-off parts, and labor-intensive geometries. Due to the growing popularity of this technology, especially in the defense and medical industries, more researchers are looking into the physics and mechanics behind the AM process. Many factors and parameters contribute to the overall quality of a part, one of them being the powder bed itself. So far, little investigation has been dedicated to the behavior of the powder in the powder …

Enhancements To The Microbial Source Tracking Process Through The Utilization Of Clustering And K-Nearest Clusters Algorithm, Tram B. Lai

Master's Theses

Bacterial contamination in water sources is a serious health risk and the sources of the bacterial strains must be identified to keep people safe. This project is the result of a collaboration effort at Cal Poly to develop a new library-dependent Microbial Source Tracking method for determining sources of fecal contamination in the environment. The library used in this study is called Cal Poly Library of Pyroprints (CPLOP). The process of building CPLOP requires students to collect fecal samples from a multitude of sources in the San Luis Obispo area. A novel method developed by the biologists at Cal Poly …

Characterization Of Botrytis Cinerea Resistance To Fungicides In California Strawberry Production, Scott D. Cosseboom

Master's Theses

Gray mold of strawberry, caused by Botrytis cinerea, is a very destructive pre- and post-harvest fruit rot. Outside of California, fungicide resistance in B. cinerea has been reported to every site-specific chemical class labeled for use against gray mold. One objective of this study was to characterize the resistance of 888 isolates of B. cinerea from California strawberry fields to ten active ingredients. Isolates were collected from the same planting block in 47 fields during the early-season (0 to 8 fungicide applications) and late-season (16 to 26 fungicide applications) of 2016. Sensitivity of each isolate was determined using the …

Evaluating Recruitment Seasonality Of Red Abalone (Haliotis Rufescens) To Inform Fisheries Management And Conservation Policy, Leslie Christine Hart

Master's Theses

Recruitment, the addition of new individuals to a population, must be understood to make predictions about population growth of marine invertebrates. Red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) represent a former important commercial fishery in California, and until recently, supported a major recreational fishery. However, there have been statewide declines since the 1960s due to overfishing, disease, and climatic factors. Thus, understanding population dynamics to inform management and population restoration is critical. Recruitment dynamics of red abalone are poorly understood, with no prior knowledge of seasonal trends. To address this knowledge gap, I assessed monthly (July 2016-June 2017) and annual (2012-2016) …

Comparative Proteomics: Assessing The Variation In Molecular Physiology Within The Adductor Muscle Between Mytilus Galloprovincialis And Mytilus Trossulus In Response To Acute Heat Stress, Joshua Scott Mier

Master's Theses

Increases in seawater temperatures have imposed physiological constraints which are partially thought to contribute to recently observed shifts in biogeographic distribution among closely related intertidal ectotherms. For instance, Mytilus galloprovincialis an introduced warm-adapted species from the Mediterranean, has displaced the native cold-adapted congener, M. trossulus, over large latitudinal expanses off the California coast. Several comparative physiological studies have revealed interspecific differences in thermal tolerance, including variation in aerobic metabolism and gape behavior, which suggest the invasive congener is better adapted to acclimate to increasing seawater conditions as predicted due to climate change. However, current analyses seek to discover the …

Nanoscale Mapping Of In-Situ Micro Electro Mechanical Systems With Atomic Force Microscopy, Manuel Rivas

Master's Theses

Micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) are increasingly at our fingertips. To understand and thereby improve their performance, especially given their ever-decreasing sizes, it is crucial to measure their functionality in-situ. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is well suited for such studies, allowing nanoscale lateral and vertical resolution of static displacements, as well as mapping of the dynamic response of these physically actuating microsystems. In this work, the vibration of a tuning fork based viscosity sensor is mapped and compared to model experiments in air, liquid, and a curing collagen gel. The switching response of a MEMS switch with nanosecond time-scale activation is also monitored …

Assessment Of Maternal And Infant Outcomes Of Moderately Malnourished Pregnant Adolescents In Malawi, Alyssa Marie Friebert

Master's Theses

Background: Adolescent childbearing and maternal malnutrition are common in low- and middle-income countries and are associated with increased risk for poor maternal and infant outcomes. Adolescent pregnancy compounded with moderate malnutrition exacerbates outcomes common to both individually. Supplementary foods may be a way to improve outcomes in malnourished adolescent pregnant women.

Objective: To retrospectively assess maternal and infant outcomes in moderately malnourished pregnant young adolescents (16-17 YO), older adolescents (18-19 YO), and adults (≥20 YO) in response to one of three nutritional interventions and in a pooled treatment group analysis, and to assess differences in infant outcomes by infant gender. …

Predicting The Nitrogen Fertilizer Response Of Turfgrass Based On Solvita® Soil Test Results, David Moore

Master's Theses

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer recommendations are very difficult to make for turfgrass because N is transient in the soil and because the N mineralization potential of soil can be difficult to predict. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between turfgrass performance and Solvita^® Labile Amino N (SLAN) and Soil CO₂-Burst (SSCB) tests. Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) turf plots received 23 rates of organic fertilizer and 4 rates of urea, and were evaluated separately for five measures of turfgrass performance: total foliar N, normalized difference vegetation index, chlorophyll …

Machine Learning Methods For Kidney Disease Screening, Rathna Ramesh

Master's Theses

The number of people diagnosed with advanced stages of kidney disease has been rising every year. Early detection and constant monitoring are the only way to prevent severe kidney damage or kidney failure. Current test procedures require expensive consumables or several visits to the doctor, which results in many people foregoing regular testing. To address this problem, we propose a cost-effective teststrip-based testing system that can facilitate kidney health checks from the comfort of one’s home by using mobile phones. The specially designed teststrip facilitates a colorimetric reaction between alkaline picric acid and creatinine in a blood sample that has …

Characterizing The Roles Of Staphylococcus Aureus Secreted Factors In Virulence And Modulation Of Innate Immune Cell Activity, Cameron Harvey

Master's Theses

Staphylococcus aureus is a prominent human pathogen that is responsible for a massive burden on healthcare. This thesis takes two approaches to characterize how S. aureus secreted factors subvert the innate immune response. First, characterization of the integral membrane protease 1984 showed that it regulates secretion of a putative lytic transglycosylase, IsaA, which is implicated in virulence. My results suggest IsaA and 1984 are capable of modulating immune responses that result in enhanced heart colonization in vivo. In addition, recent studies have uncovered TLR-independent pathways that induce inflammatory responses after S. aureus insult. Therefore, I hypothesized the bacterium secretes factors …

Chronic Circadian Misalignment Leads To Reduced Longevity And Largescale Changes In Gene Expression In Drosophila Melanogaster, Alex Christ Boomgarden

Master's Theses

As a result of earth's orientation toward the sun producing day and night, organisms have evolved an endogenous circadian timing system that is responsible for the 24-hour oscillation of most physiological and behavioral processes. This timing system is constantly synchronized to the external environment to adapt to and anticipate changes in light, temperature, food, and mate availability. In modern society, social and work constraints cause people to live schedules that are out of sync with their internal circadian clocks, producing a chronic circadian misalignment (CCM). While epidemiological studies in humans point to potentially damaging metabolic and cognitive consequences of CCM, …

Pain And Academic Performance In Youth With Spina Bifida: The Mediating Role Of Neuropsychological Functioning, Diana Margaret Ohanian

Master's Theses

Objective: The current literature has identified few modifiable condition parameters associated with academic performance in youth with spina bifida (SB). Nevertheless, youth with SB are more likely to struggle academically than their typically developing (TD) peers. Therefore, identifying areas for clinical intervention is paramount. Pain, an understudied secondary condition in youth with SB, has been found to be associated with poorer academic performance in TD youth. Further, neuropsychological functioning has been found to be both negatively associated with pain and positively associated with academic outcomes. The aims of this study were to examine (1) the relationship between pain and academic …

Consistency Of Health Behaviors And Relations To Bmi In First Year College Students, Laura Nicholson

Master's Theses

Existing research suggests that individuals with erratic schedules (e.g., shift workers) may be at greater risk for weight gain. This may be due, in part, to the inconsistent timing of health behaviors, such as sleep. Little is known, however about the relevance of the consistent timing of health behaviors among other populations, including college students who are risk for weight gain. The current study examined the consistency of three health behaviors (i.e. sleep, eating occurrences, and physical activity) and relations with body weight among first year college students at a large Midwestern university. Daily diary methods were used to collect …

The Neurobiological Correlates Of Savoring, Ian James Kahrilas

Master's Theses

Personality traits pertaining to positive emotion may be a key factor in deriving vitality from our lives. Positive affectivity refers to one's disposition to experience intense and frequent episodes of positive affect, while savoring capacity refer to one's ability to regulate positive affect. Both traits have been positively associated with happiness, self-esteem, prosocial behaviors, improved health outcomes, as well as attenuated depressive symptomatology and neuroticism. The late positive potential (LPP) is an electroencephalography (EEG) component that is theorized to index a visual cortical/amygdala pathway that is involved in evaluating the affective salience of stimuli. LPP is sensitive to the emotional …

A Systems Theory Analysis Of The Goshen Seventh-Day Adventist Church's System Of Communication, Clavour R. Tucker

Master's Theses

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is a complex and multilayered nonprofit organization (NPO), with carefully outlined policies and guidelines for almost every aspect of the organization. However, the philosophical or structural framework that guides communication within the organization is not clear. It is my hypothesis, having been a member and employee of the organization for almost 30 years, that not having such a structure has led to the creation of a fragmented culture of communication, which is observable in local congregations. This research assesses this phenomenon at the Goshen SDA Church, in Chicago, IL, and seeks to answer the …

Characterizing The Requirement Of The Cmi/Trr Compass-Like Complex During Drosophila Development, Timothy Nickels

Master's Theses

The MLR family of COMPASS-like complexes are histone methyltransferase complexes that are associated with the activation of gene enhancers. In D. melanogaster, Cara mitad (Cmi, also known as Lpt) and Trithorax related (Trr) are central subunits of a complex orthologous to mammalian Lysine methyltransferase 2 C and D (KMT2C and KMT2D, also known as MLL3 and MLL2/4) that catalyze H3K4 monomethylation. Previous studies have demonstrated that mutations in these genes are associated with cancer and developmental disorders, but the mechanisms by which these alterations contribute to disease states are unknown. The Cmi-containing COMPASS-like complex and orthologous vertebrate complexes have been …

The Conservation, Excavation, And Analysis Of Ancient Human Remains: A Bioarchaeological Case Study Of Prehistoric Reburials From Nevis, West Indies, Marissa Nicole Massaro

Master's Theses

In the summer of 2015, the cranium of what seemed to be an indigenous Caribbean individual was discovered partially exposed on White’s Bay Beach, Nevis. The following year, upon excavation of two known burial sites, a test pit brought forth an additional burial of two individuals dating about 1025-1275 AD. Currently, there is very little known about this period causing confusion about the migration and settlement patterns of the Caribbean people during this time. Additionally, the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society is experiencing rising concerns of the demolition and utilization of their historical land and beaches for infrastructural development. As …

Analysis Of Fiber Network Architecture In Blood Vessels And Blood Clots, Dustin Michael Nguyen

Master's Theses

Fibrous networks, including collagen and fibrin, provide strength and support, and are critical for maintaining homeostasis. In this study, we have developed algorithms to define the structural properties of collagen and fibrin networks from microscopic images of these networks in abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) and blood clots, respectively. AAA is a biomechanical disease characterized by significant changes in the structure and strength of the arterial wall due to differential changes in the composition of fibrillar collagen in adventitial and medial layers. Using bright-field and polarized microscopic images of histological sections of mouse aorta stained with Picrosirius red (PSR) stain, we …

Nonlinear Stiffness And Viscoelasticity Of Inhibitor-Treated Blood Clots By Tensile Testing, Wilson S. Eng

Master's Theses

Although blood clots are vital to wound healing, little is known about what factors influence clot stiffness and dynamic response. This work investigates the mechanics of inhibitor-treated clots by direct tensile testing using a custom designed system for forces below 1 N. Inhibitors that affect clot formation include blebbistatin, which affects myosin II movement on actin, and cytochalasin D, which affects actin polymerization. The hypothesis of this investigation is that blebbistatin will have a greater effect on mechanical behavior than cytochalasin D, because the inhibition of myosin II will weaken the overall clot more than actin. This hypothesis was investigated …