Digital Commons Network^™

Custodians Of Memory: A History Of American Archival Science With Suggestions For Future Digital Preservation Efforts, Courtney Thompson

Master's Theses

The archive and the historian are symbiotically dependent on one another. The archive relies on the historian to make use of the records it houses, and the historian looks to the archive to reconstruct history. But can a historian responsibly reconstruct history when the archive is fraught with relativity and bias? This thesis serves two purposes; one, pulling from seminal archival science and collections management texts, it chronicles the monumental, intellectual changes to American archival sciences, theories, and institutions, and two, it shows how these early conversations pertaining to archival theories are both not far removed from digital preservation efforts …

Pretreatment Of Loblolly Pine Tree Toppings (Needled) Using Dess, Prathima Gujjula

Master's Theses

Contemporary industrial development and swift urbanization require environmentally sustainable energy sources. Ethanol made from biomass provides unique environmental and economic strategic benefits and can be considered a safe and clean liquid fuel alternative to fossil fuels. Ethanol’s significant advantages, such as low cost, biodegradability, and abundance, make the application of biomass for production of biorenewable energy favorable. However, biomass must be subjected to pretreatment processes to liberate the components needed for effective enzymatic hydrolysis that converts cellulose to sugars prior to fermentation to create biofuel. Production of valueadded co-products besides biofuels, through coordinated bio refinery processes, requires selectivity during pretreatment. …

Transforming Growth Factor Beta Suppression Of Cd8+ T Cell Proliferation, Shena Geisinger

Master's Theses

Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-beta) is highly suppressive to both CD4+ and CD8+ T cell proliferation and function. in tumor microenvironments, TGF-beta has been described as immune suppressive, particularly to CD8+ T cells, however, the molecular mechanism behind how TGF-beta signaling controls T cell growth is not fully understood. Here, we report that TGF-beta inhibits CD8+ T cell proliferation and reduces expression of the CARMA1/BCL10/MALT1 (CBM) signalosome complex in activated CD8+ T cells. the CBM signalosome is an essential scaffold that forms after T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation, leading to the activation of NF-kB and AP-1. This observed reduction in …

"Location, Location, Location": How Where A Prisoner Is Housed Influences The Prison Disciplinary Process, Phillip Thomas Whittington

Master's Theses

The primary objective of this research is to gauge the extent to which Illinois' prisons vary in the severity of disciplinary sanctions imposed upon prisoners found guilty of committing similar rule violations. This research also seeks to identify factors that are most determinative of severity of disciplinary sanctions imposed upon prisoners after accounting for variance between prisons. the sample was constructed using data provided by Illinois prison officials concerning all prisoners released from prison in Illinois during a four-year period who were found guilty of committing at least one rule violation during their last term of incarceration. the research objective …

Layperson's Norms Surrounding Politician Sexual Misconduct And Sexual Harassment, Yelyzaveta Distefano

Master's Theses

While there are legal definitions of what actions and circumstances constitute gender based prejudiced, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape, less is known about lay people's norms and perceptions of what behaviors and situations qualify as each of these categories, especially involving the role of context in which ambiguous social-sexual behaviors occur. Additionally, sexual harassment paradigms have not explored the unique power relationships of politicians and those working under them in political office, an especially topical locale of workplace SH in a post #MeToo America. 277 participants completed a survey with a 2 (setting: workplace, office party at the bar) …

Exploring The Biological Function Of Carboxypeptidase O: Analysis Of Expression And Association With Chylomicrons And Lipid Droplets, Erika Bauza Nowotny

Master's Theses

Carboxypeptidase O (CPO) is a membrane-bound peptidase that cleaves acidic and polar C-terminal amino acids of peptides; however, its biological function remains unknown. CPO is strongly expressed in the small intestine, where it has been proposed to participate in digestion events at the brush border by extracellular cleavage of dietary peptides. At the subcellular level, CPO is anchored to the inner leaflet of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, where it has been shown to associate with lipid droplets (LDs). The ER membrane also represents the site of iv chylomicron formation, a process that shares many similarities with that of LDs …

The Impact Of Berrien Springs Water Types On Multiethnic Hair Textures, Ralna M. Simmonds

Master's Theses

This thesis documents an explorative study into the effect of water from various Berrien Springs water sources on the multiethnic hair texture of Andrews University students/faculty. Participants were living in the area for at least five months, whether originally from the United States or other countries of the world. The theory informing this study is the Expectancy Violations Theory (EVT) by Burgoon (1976). EVT is a communication theory that examines the reaction to behaviors within nonverbal communication that are expected or unexpected in a positive or negative light. In this context EVT has not been used to examine nonverbal communication, …

Zechariah 9-14 In Light Of Allusions To The Sanctuary Motif In The Old Testament, Artur Boldt

Master's Theses

Topic

Zechariah 9-14 sheds additional light to the eschatological relevance of the sanctuary by emphasizing God’s presence among humankind. The sanctuary motif receives a vertical dimension by focusing on God’s original Sanctuary.

Purpose

Firstly, questions of introduction will be answered to give an overview of the material. In this context, the question of genre will be handled with special care. Then it will be defined how the concept of allusions is understood. This concept then will be applied to three different OT sanctuary references. Followed by an evaluation of these references. Afterwards different passages in Zech 9-14 will be examined …

The Influence Of Jesus' Approach To People Through "Teaching And Healing" On The Faith Of People In Jesus Christ And On Their Relationship To The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Armin Danz

Master's Theses

The problem underlying this study is the slow but steady decline in membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Numerous missionary efforts in the past have not been able to change this trend. However, an approach that summarizes the work of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew has not been followed: Namely that Jesus taught people about the Kingdom of God and healed them through prayer. Both church historical sources and modern research suggest that wherever the biblical example of Jesus was followed closely it had a positive influence on the growth of churches. …

The Correlation Between Servant Leadership And Organizational Health Within The North England Conference Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Carlton Hugh Douglas

Master's Theses

Problem

Statistics indicate the SDA church in the North England Conference (NEC) is having little effect on the population in the UK. This may be due to the fact that the leadership approach and the structure of the church have not changed despite globalisation, advances in technology, and increased migration. With the demands of operating within a secular, pluralistic society, the North England Conference faces a real challenge to maintain its integrity while being relevant. This study investigates the correlation between perceived servant leadership principles and organizational health by the leaders, pastoral workers, and members of the NEC.

Method

The …

The Characterization Of Inflammatory Extracellular Vesicles, Barak Balva

Master's Theses

One of the driving factors behind innate immunity is the early response of inflammation. While beneficial in controlling infections, when uncontrolled it can lead to a plethora of disorders. Thus, it is essential to understand the driving factors behind inflammation. a cell's ability to recycle, discard, or transfer proteins is integral for survival and intercellular communication. It has been appreciated that inflammatory components, such as caspase-1, play a huge role in driving protein secretion. Thus, inflammation also plays a role in the distribution of proteins released from cells. These proteins are released via non-conventional secretory pathways, and our lab is …

Predicting Drug Misuse Status Using Machine Learning On Electronic Health Records, Robert Arnold Kania

Master's Theses

Substance misuse is a major problem in the world. in 2014, as many as 52,404 deaths in the US were caused by drug overdoses. in 2001, the monetary cost of drug misuse has been estimated to be 414 billion dollars. in this work, we explore the use of different machine learning algorithms in the prediction of cocaine misuse using structured and unstructured data found in electronic health records. These records contain various attributes that can help with this prediction, including but not limited to chart text data, previous diagnoses of certain diseases and information about the area the patient lives …

Condition Severity And Parent Psychosocial Functioning In Families Of Youth With Spina Bifida: The Role Of Parental Attitudes And Beliefs, Elicia Wartman

Master's Theses

Past research suggests that parents of youth with spina bifida (SB) have worse psychosocial outcomes than parents of typically developing youth. SB is a complex medical condition that is accompanied by varying degrees of physical disability and cognitive deficits. Research on stress and coping suggests that parents' attitudes and beliefs may contribute to their own psychosocial adjustment. This study unpacks condition severity and examines the role of severity of condition-related factors in predicting parental adjustment and parental attitudes and beliefs. Participants were recruited as part of a larger longitudinal study. Information on condition severity, including type of SB, lesion level, …

Dna Methylation Patterns Of Repetitive Elements On Hc21, Navy Neang

Master's Theses

Cancer is one of the most prominent diseases resulting in death, thus the need for early detection remains essential to its treatments. It is usually associated with DNA methylation changes during tumorigenesis. While many studies focus on euchromatin, some studies have looked at the methylation changes in heterochromatin, since the methylation changes of repetitive elements is common and they contribute to karyotypic instability leading to enhanced chances for more mutations in tumor progression. Using bisulfite PCR and HC21 as a model, this study examines the DNA methylation changes of three repetitive elements in prostate cancer, NBL2, satellite I subfamilies, and …

Climate-Driven Insect Herbivory In Mixed Coast Live Oak Woodlands Within The Mt. Hamilton Range, Santa Clara County, Michelle Domocol

Master's Theses

Climate change is expected to dramatically alter and destabilize critical functions of oak woodlands (Quercus spp.) in California. Oak woodlands support hundreds of vertebrate species and thousands of native insect species. Climate-driven changes in annual temperature, annual rainfall, and spatial climatic variability may increase insect herbivore pressures on mixed coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) woodlands. The Mt. Hamilton Range of Santa Clara County, California offers a unique matrix to study oak-insect herbivore relationship using elevation as a proxy for climate change. This thesis research assessed the relationship between lepidopteran herbivory and coast live oak with insect surveys and the laboratory …

Keeping Track Of Change: Developmental Insights Into The Ability To Represent Objects In Episodic Terms, Emily Yearling

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Conceptualizing The Promise Of Life Skills Education For Adolescent Girls In The Global South: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Olivia Casey

Master's Theses

In recent years, international development organizations have increasingly championed life skills education as a crucial tool for empowering girls in the global South. However, while life skills education continues to gain momentum and popularity within the international development landscape, the heterogeneity of life skills interventions remains significant. In this study, I aimed to uncover how key global actors differently conceptualize life skills and the promises they are understood to hold for adolescent girls in the global South at the current moment. Utilizing the methodology of critical discourse analysis, I examined key documents on girls’ life skills education published by central …

Investigating The Relationship Between Hormone Receptors Dax-1 And Estrogen Receptor Within Prostate Cancer Cell Lines, Meghana G. Vijayraghavan

Master's Theses

Prostate cancer (PCa) is estimated to be the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men in the United States in 2019. While most prostate tumors rely on androgens for growth signaling, there are subsets of tumors that become androgen-resistant, therefore resisting conventional androgen-depravation therapy. Consequently, research has focused on targeting different hormone receptors for novel therapeutics. One such receptor is Dosage-sensitive sex reversal, adrenal hypoplasia critical region, on chromosome X, gene 1 (DAX-1). DAX-1 is known to interact with other hormone receptors, such as androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptors (ERs) to suppress the proliferative effects …

Characterization And Membrane Stability Study For The Switchable Polarity Solvent N,N-Dimethylcyclohexylamine As A Draw Solute In Forward Osmosis, Kevin K. Reimund

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Hybrid Iii 95th Percentile Large Male Finite Element Model Neck Alteration, Eric Riley Day

Master's Theses

The motivation behind the project was to update the Livermore Software Technology Corporation (LSTC) Hybrid III 95th percentile finite element model, such that the neck assembly response under varying simulated loading conditions equals that of the federally regulated Hybrid III 95th percentile anthropomorphic testing device (ATD).

The family of Hybrid III crash test dummies approximate the physical properties and response of the human body in a frontal automotive crash. The Hybrid III is used to assess the effectiveness of vehicle restraint systems. LSTC offers Hybrid III finite element models for use in their Multiphysics simulation software package, LS-DYNA. The Hybrid …

Design, Modeling And Control Of A Two-Wheel Balancing Robot Driven By Bldc Motors, Charles T. Refvem

Master's Theses

The focus of this document is on the design, modeling, and control of a self-balancing two wheel robot, hereafter referred to as the balance bot, driven by independent brushless DC (BLDC) motors. The balance bot frame is composed of stacked layers allowing a lightweight, modular, and rigid mechanical design. The robot is actuated by a pair of brushless DC motors equipped with Hall effect sensors and encoders allowing determination of the angle and angular velocity of each wheel. Absolute orientation measurement is accomplished using a full 9-axis IMU consisting of a 3-axis gyroscope, a 3-axis accelerometer, and a 3-axis magnetometer. …

The Effects Of Dance On Gross Motor Skills And Strength In Students With Down Syndrome, Jennifer Canfield

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if weekly participation in a ballet class improved upon the gross motor skills of students with Down Syndrome. This study is important because the student participants all showed growth in their gross motor abilities as well as overall strength and physical functioning. When students with special needs are regularly exposed to dance, certain physical skills that are normally more challenging for them, improve, including gross motor functioning, increased strength, better coordination, and an increased ability to balance. This research can be used to justify the expansion of inclusive and adaptive dance opportunities …

The Influence Of Job Motivation On Nurse Retention: A Study Of American International Hospital, Hoa Thi Ngoc Nguyen

Master's Theses

For years, the concept of motivation has been a popular topic of discussion among various researchers and practitioners. Nowadays, managers are continuously challenged to perceive the motivated factors in their employees in order to promoting the retention of the motivated workforce. Healthcare worker retention is critical for health system functionality; however, the key issue is how to best motivate and retain health care professionals. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of literature on measuring motivation of health workers in Vietnam especially among nurses. For this reason, the study was conducted to survey the influence of job motivation on nurse retention in …

The Missing Art: Dance Advocacy And Inter-Arts Collaboration In New Jersey Public High Schools, Vicki Jenkins

Master's Theses

The purpose of this research was to explore the effects dance has on New Jersey public high schools’ performing arts curriculum and its students. It also explored how dance was being utilized in schools and the ways in which art teachers worked together in their programs. The research instrument used in this study was an electronic survey that included quantitative and qualitative questions for data gathering. Participants in this study were from eleven New Jersey high schools that included forty-two arts teachers and eight administrators. The data suggested dance was an important component to the performing arts curricula for teachers, …

Dance Competitions: The Culture, The Training, And The Effects On Young Dancers, Teresa Schmitt

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to assist educators, students, and families, in understanding the advantages and disadvantages of participating in competition dance training as it exists in private studios. The researcher evaluated perceptions of competitive dance training through the lens of nine high school aged dancers who participate or did participate in such activities, with a goal of uncovering how this training experience affected them and what they thought about it. The research instrument used in this study was an electronic survey that included questions that produced responses that were analyzed either quantitively or qualitatively, depending on the nature …

Closing The Opportunity Gap In And Through Dance: A New Rubric Design, Emily Hunter

Master's Theses

The goal of this research was to design a dance audition rubric that could identify both capability and potential in novice students and formally trained dancers alike. The high school targeted in this study was among the top public arts schools in the nation, able to offer unparalleled opportunities to students who gain admission by audition. A problem existed in that students with little or no formal dance training had difficulty gaining entry to the dance program because the existing rubric rewarded evidence of training over raw talent. In designing a new rubric, the hope was to identify one way …

The Examination Of The Function Of The Cofactor Schnurri In The Cyst Stem Cells Of The Drosophila Melanogaster Testis Niche, Jade Koretko

Master's Theses

The study of adult stem cells in modern day research provides pertinent information about the development of organisms, how they grow, and how tissue is maintained. Drosophila melanogaster provide an ideal model for in vivo stem cell research, with one of the best-characterized niches in the testis. The testis stem cell niche consists of a hub that provides signals to the local stem cells, germline stem cells (GSCs), and cyst stem cells (CySCs). The CySCs produce cyst cell lineage that will provide support for the GSC daughter cells, which differentiate into sperm. Previously, Matunis, et al. determined the function of …

Characterizing The Role Of Tumor Suppressors Merlin And Expanded In The Stem Cell Niche Of Drosophila Testes, Bryan Johnson

Master's Theses

The ability of adult organisms to maintain tissue homeostasis and repair tissue in response to injury is mediated by small groups of partially differentiated cells called adult stem cells that support the tissue they reside in. Adult stem cell maintenance is highly regulated by signals from the surrounding microenvironment referred to as the stem cell niche. A better understanding of this process will have important implications for the fields of both regenerative medicine and cancer biology. Due to the complexity of most niche environments in mammals, we turned to the less complex model organism Drosophila and the well-characterized niche in …

Characterizing The Susceptibility And Type I Interferon Response Of Primary Mammalian Cells During Zika Virus Infection, Douglas Petty

Master's Theses

Zika virus (ZIKV), a member of the genus Flavivirus, has become a major public health concern since 2007. During the most recent 2015 outbreak, ZIKV rapidly spread from South America to over 84 countries and territories across the world in two years. ZIKV has also been associated with previously uncharacterized neurological manifestations during the 2013 and 2015 outbreaks. The novel manifestations include Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in adults and Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) in newborns. GBS is a progressive paralysis caused by damage to the peripheral nervous system; while CZS is an all-encompassing term for the severe neurological and developmental complications …

The Thiol Specific Antioxidant (Tsa1) Gene Is Required For Survival In Macrophages And Oxidative Stress Resistance In Histoplasma Capsulatum, Lauren Kennedy

Master's Theses

Histoplasma capsulatum(Hc) is a pathogenic fungus that causes one of the most common invasive fungal respiratory diseases, Histoplasmosis. Histoplasmaundergoes a dimorphic shift from mold to yeast which is crucial to pathogenesis of the organism.

The thiol specific antioxidant gene, Tsa1,is strongly upregulated in the yeast (pathogenic) morphotype. This data led to the hypothesis that this gene plays a role in protecting Hcfrom host mediated oxidative attack. To characterize Tsa1 function, a knockdown strain (tsa1-RNAi) was created by RNAi gene silencing. Expression of Tsa1in the tsa1-RNAistrain was reduced to 10% that …