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Beaver Home Ranges And Movement Patterns On The Embarras River Watershed In East Central Illinois, Randall P. Havens

Masters Theses

The beaver (Castor canadensis) is an ecologically and economically important species that has been much studied and exploited during its long association with humans (Bradt 1938, Hodgdon 1978, Novak 1987, Muller-Schwartze and Schulte 1999). Beavers have been described as ecosystem engineers and a keystone species because of their ability to physically modify, maintain, or create wetlands thereby controlling resources used by other organisms and altering the physical state of the environment (Jones et al. 1994). They are capable of impacting the local environment through dam construction, selective tree harvest, and den construction. For example, beaver dams impact stream hydrology, nutrient …

The Effect Of Glycemic Indices And Timing Of Meal On Exercise To Fatigue, Amy Morrison Gyorkos

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the influence of pre-carbohydrate feedings prior to exercise to fatigue. Five individuals performed a peak bike test and four experimental trials, separated by 7 days. Upon arrival, subjects ingested 1g of carbohydrates (CHO) for every kilogram of body weight (BW) of a high glycemic index meal (HGI) or a low glycemic index meal (LGI) prior to exercise to fatigue. Subjects waited 30- or 60-minutes following each test meal, totaling four experimental trials. The exercise regiment was consistent following each meal; 90 minutes cycling at 70% peak oxygen consumption (VO_{2peak …}

A Bioarchaeological Investigation Of Two Unmarked Graveyards In Bridgetown, Barbados, Christopher Crain

Masters Theses

In 1996 and 1999 two previously unknown graveyards were discovered in separate sections of Bridgetown, Barbados. Emergency excavations of the sites recovered the skeletal material of at least thirty-two (MNI=32) individuals as well as a number of grave goods. While the artifacts were from the historical period there was continuing speculation as to the ancestry of the individuals interred within these graveyards. During the summer of 2004 the first preliminary osteological analysis of the skeletal material was conducted to identify the biological characteristics, including the ancestral affiliation, of these individuals. The analysis determined that the individuals interred at these sites …

Influence Of Social Group And Health/Exercise Program On Obesity Related Outcome Measures Among Obese Adolescents, Debra Braley

Masters Theses

The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the influence of a health/exercise program and social group on fat mass, weight, circumference measurements and body image among obese adolescents. Eighteen adolescents, ages 12-15 years were randomly assigned into 3 groups of 6. The parent/youth group (PYG) had 3 female and 3 male Caucasian participants. The peer group (PG) consisted of 2 females and 1 male Caucasians and 3 African-American females. The control group (CG) had 4 females and 1 male Caucasians and 1 African-American female. Body composition, weight, circumference measurements, and self-report questionnaires (Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, MBSRQ) were …

Bone Density Testing As An Early Detection Devise For Anorexia Nervosa And Osteoporosis In Pre-Adolescent And Adolescent Girls, Kelle L. Brooks

Masters Theses

Osteoporosis has become one of the leading health problems for postmenopausal women in the United States, however, it has been shown that preadolescent and adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa are at an unusually high risk for early on-set osteoporosis and bone fractures.

Bone density testing has already proving itself as an accurate form of detection in post-menopausal women and the elderly and is widely used at medical institutions, clinics, and pharmacies throughout the United States as an inexpensive, non-invasive, and accurate technique for detecting low bone mass.

This research aims to examine anorexia nervosa and its long-term effects on the …

Patterns Of Cortical Growth As Indicators Of Population Health: An Exploratory Analysis Of Subadult Remains From The Tell Abraq Site, Uae, Jessica L. Rhodes

Masters Theses

The analysis of children in archaeological contexts is a relatively new field of study that emerged largely as a result of feminist and gender studies in the social sciences. Thus, methodologies that are typically employed in bioarchaeological analyses of children have yet to be refined and standardized. The commingling of subadult remains in archaeological contexts further confounds this issue by eliminating the ability of the researcher to establish reasonable age-at-death distributions.

This study seeks to explore the utility of analyzing patterns of cortical growth-for-diaphyseal length in commingled subadult remains. Specifically, commingled subadult remains excavated from the Tell Abraq site (UAE, …

Rhizopine Synthesis – Potential Mediators For Nitrogen Fixation In Legume Plants, Venkat Reddy Guduru

Masters Theses

This research project focused on novel and efficient synthetic approaches of inosamine derivatives (rhizopines). The preparation of specific rhizopines would help elucidate the microbial pathway of rhizopine catabolism and degradation, and determine the role of corresponding genes during nitrogen fixation. We have investigated regio - and stereoselective transformations of myo-inositol derivative 28 utilizing an organostannane as key intermediate towards rhizopine 1a. The synthesis involved several protection and deprotection strategies to control competing reactivities of six hydroxyl groups of myo-inositol. Rhizopine 1a was prepared efficiently as a single isomer in 8 steps and 13% yield by controlling reactions …

Natal Dispersal Of Beavers In The Embarras River Watershed In Central Illinois, Erin A. Cleere

Masters Theses

Dispersal is an important mechanism influencing the dynamics, genetics, spatial distribution and size of wildlife populations (Gese and Mech 1991). Natal dispersal may afford individuals breeding opportunities and access to resources, while reducing inbreeding and competition with family members. However, dispersal also can be risky if mortality rates are high or if mates or suitable habitat are unavailable. When dispersal costs are high, subadults may be better off remaining in their natal territory.

Although a number of previous studies have investigated natal dispersal in beavers (Castor canadensis), conclusions regarding the percentage of subadults that disperse, timing of dispersal, evidence of …

Comparison Of Perceived And Actual Nutrition Needs Of College-Age Students, Amanda M. Goetze

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research was to assess the needs of Eastern Illinois University students regarding nutrition-related topics of concern and programming methods. Four hundred ninety-two students and four health professionals participated. The results indicate that students consume grains and vegetables in less than recommended amounts, fruits and dairy products within the recommended amounts, and meats, sweets, oils, and fats, and alcohol in excess. Nutritional issues affecting these students include management of weight, consumption of alcohol, and low intakes of iron, folate, and vitamin C. The perceptions of health professionals were not able to be compared to those of students; …

The Effects Of Habitat Quality On Abiotic Factors And Heterotrophic Microbial Activity In A Freshwater Stream System, Daphne Kampinga

Masters Theses

Much of the Midwest, as well as Illinois' landscape, has largely been transformed from its original habitat of prairie, savanna, wetlands, and forest into corn and soybean fields and urban areas. As a result, less than 1% of the original habitat in Illinois remains intact today. These modifications can lead to habitat fragmentation and affect riparian zone vegetation, which is an important link between the land-water interface and influences processes such as organic matter inputs and water temperature regimes. As a result of fragmentation, riparian zone loss has occurred and catchment vegetation associated with streams can vary from agricultural fields, …

Diet Composition Of Juvenile Fish Reflects Adaptation To Altered Prey Communities In A Reservoir Receiving Thermal Effluent, Brian A. Metzke

Masters Theses

Survival, and ultimately recruitment. of planktivorous juvenile fish is related to prey availability. Temperature regime and introduction of exotic species can change zooplankton community dynamics and alter trophic relationships between juvenile fish and their prey. Newton Lake, located in Jasper County, Illinois is used as a cooling reservoir for a coal burning power plant. Thermal effluent produced by the power plant is released into only one of two reservoir arms creating a temperature gradient. Newton Lake also contains Daphnia lumholtzi, an exotic zooplankter thought to create feeding difficulties for gape-limited predators like juvenile fish. It is within the context of …

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Attitudes, Knowledge, And Usage By Perimenopausal And Postmenopausal Women, Misty Lynn Rhoads

Masters Theses

With an increased life expectancy, women are living an average of 30 yearars after the set of menopause. With the change in life, there is a significant change in t onse the production of female hormones which causes unpleasant side effects that includes hot flashes, osteoporosis, nausea, and palpitations. Hormone replacement therapy was promoted to provide relief for women. However, research has shown that HRT may increase the risk of endometrial cancer, strokes and breast cancer. Therefore, women are given contradictory information concerning HRT. The current study explored the attitudes, knowledge and intentions of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women concerning hormone …

The Role Of Dairy Products In The Calcium Intake Of Suburban Adolescents, Simie Bredeweg-Dejager

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine consumption of dairy products by suburban adolescents. This was a secondary analysis of data from a questionnaire administered in late fall of 2003. There were 255 adolescents who completed the questionnaire. Data were examined to estimate calcium intake from dairy products.

There was a significant difference in the amount of calcium adolescents consume from cheese, compared to that supplied by milk (t = -8.502, p = .000). Further analyzing by gender, there was a significant difference between boys and girls intake of milk and cheese. No significant difference was found between boys …

The Effects Of Two Different Body Weight Support Harnesses On Oxygen Consumption And Heart Rate In Healthy Individuals, Sara Alison Koski

Masters Theses

The use of a body weight support hydraulic system can be beneficial for athletes with lower extremity injuries to help maintain cardiovascular fitness and provide athletes with the ability to advance lower extremity injuries to full weight bearing earlier than without a body weight support harness. However, body weight support harnesses can be a limiting factor due to rubbing or riding up when an injured athlete is attempting to maintain their current level of cardiovascular fitness. Discomfort is experienced with the use of many harnesses in the form of rubbing, tightness, and sliding up the torso. Two different body weight …

Athletic Amenorrhea: Prevalence And Awareness Among Female Athletes At Western Michigan University, Michele R. Chupurdia

Masters Theses

Women who participate in competitive sports are under enormous pressure to maintain an extremely low body weight through diet and exercise. While exercise is viewed as widely beneficial to women of all ages, the pressure to succeed in sports by achieving or maintaining an unrealistically low body weight through food restriction and high intensity training may lead some women to develop eating disorders, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis.

The research conducted for this thesis and presented here investigates female college athletes (18-24 years) from Western Michigan University, a Division I school, who are undergoing strenuous training. The goal of this study is …

Nutrition Education For Persons With Disabilities, Jada A. Miller

Masters Theses

This study provides descriptive information about the dietary knowledge and intake of community-based young adults who have been diagnosed with a number of disabilities. A nutrition education curriculum was implemented for the Experimental group (N=9) and at a later date for the Delayed Intervention group (N=9). Results indicated that the three-week nutrition education curriculum produced moderate improvement in participants' nutritional knowledge and moderate improvement in nutritional value of foods chosen from a menu. However, the intervention proved to have a negligible effect on the nutritional value of foods consumed within this population of individuals.

Based on the results of this …

Music Therapy And Social Skills In Young Children With Disabilities: A Survey Of Music Therapy Practitioners, Sayaka Abe

Masters Theses

Music therapy services have been utilized as one of the related services that may be necessary to assist young children with disabilities in the accomplishment of their educational goals. The purpose of this study was to examine (a) how music therapy services are used in early childhood settings and (b) how music therapy interventions aid in the development of social skills in young children with disabilities. An original survey instrument was sent to music therapists who were members of the American Music Therapy Association and had indicated that they worked in early childhood settings. The survey was sent to 423 …

Women Representing Women's Interests In Congress, Carmen R. Allen

Masters Theses

Do congresswomen try to represent women's interests in Congress? Are congresswomen more likely than congressmen to sponsor bills dealing with women's issues? In the past, research has shown that women do seem to sponsor more legislation than men that deals directly with women. Research has also shown that women legislators feel that they are responsible for representing the interests of all women. This research looks at bill sponsorship in the U.S. House of Representatives during the 106th and 107th Congresses. The data from these two Congresses show that women do sponsor more women's issue legislation than men do. They also …

Developing Diabetes Educational Materials For Gambian Clinic Staff And Type 2 Diabetics, Rachel Golin

Masters Theses

The Gambia is a small, developing country on the west coast of Africa. As with much of the world, there has been an increase in Type 2 Diabetes in the Gambia. According to the World Health Organization, the total population of the Gambia is 1.3 million (1). In 2000, there were 22,000 diabetics in the Gambia (estimated prevalence of 2%) and it is projected that the number will reach 61,000 by the year 2030 (2).

One way to help combat the increase of Type 2 Diabetes and its complications is by educating clinic staff workers and diabetics using educational materials …

Response Cost In The Treatment Of Lunging In Dogs, Jennifer L. Sobie

Masters Theses

Contemporary professional applied animal behavior management employs a diagnostic and treatment approach for unwanted pet behavior that incorporates ethology-based causal factors. As in behavior therapy for humans, behavioral assessment includes descriptive functional analysis when possible to determine relevant contingency variables. But this information is then considered in the context of an appropriate motivational classification, such as social or prey-directed motivation or fear-motivated, and treatments are designed accordingly. A different view is that behavior can be treated effectively without a presumption of the motivation through analysis of the manifestation of the behavior itself. This study sought to evaluate the efficacy of …

Sport Supplements And High School Athletes: A Study Of Use And Motivations, Bethany Coovert

Masters Theses

The use of sports supplements is prevalent among American society, including high school athletes. The purpose of this study was to determine what sports supplements high school athletes are consuming, what are the motivations behind the athletes use, where do the athletes obtain the supplements, where do the athletes acquire information regarding sports supplements and who encourages and/or discourages the athletes supplement use. A questionnaire was distributed to high school athletes in the greater Kalamazoo, Michigan area, with a seven percent response rate.

The study found that 34% of the high school athletes surveyed reported to use sports supplements. The …

Development Of A Method For Determining Antioxidant Efficacy Against Hydroxyl Radicals, Cherie Hacker

Masters Theses

Hydroxyl free radicals are biologically important molecules in that they attack proteins, lipids and DNA to obtain an electron to fill their outer valence shell. The consequences of such attacks include protein degradation, lipid peroxidation and DNA damage, which leads to many diseases and cancer. While there are many antioxidant assays available to predict anti-radical properties of compounds against different free radicals, the assessment of hydroxyl radical damage has been challenging. This is due to the extremely high reaction rate of hydroxyl radicals. The present study defines an in vitro assay that quantitatively detects antioxidant efficacy against hydroxyl free radicals, …

A Spatial Temporal Analysis Of Infant Mortality In The Midwest Industrial Belt: 1940 And 2000, Julie Macarthur

Masters Theses

This study compares and analyzes the spatial patterns of infant mortality (IM) for 1940 and 2000 using county-level socio-economic variables in the Industrial Belt, assesses the changes in IM as an indicator of the living standards for the population over time and space, and explains the changes. The region was delineated using 1940 employment data. OLS, spatial regression, and exploratory spatial data analysis were used on IM (the dependent variable) and socio-economic variables to study the standard of living in the region. Some important factors were statistically significant in the various models including: minority population, levels of industrialization, and urbanization …

Athletic Trainers' Perceptions Of Competence In Therapeutic Exercise, Christopher J. Jones

Masters Theses

As the athletic training profession continues to expand, it is necessary to evaluate the preparedness of the entry-level certified athletic trainer (ATC). The purpose of this research is to determine if entry-level certified athletic trainers perceive that they have the knowledge and skills necessary to perform specific tasks related to therapeutic exercise.

An online questionnaire was sent out to 450 entry-level certified athletic trainers in District Four. A total of 69 subjects returned the survey for a response rate of 15.3%. The questionnaire utilized a Likert-type scale consisting of questions derived in the area of therapeutic exercise of the NATA …

Can Status Be Revealed? Dichotomous Cultural And Physiological Markers Of Social Differentiation In Two Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Sites In The Levant, Monika L. Trahe

Masters Theses

Bioarchaeological studies utilize linear enamel hypoplasias (LEH) to discuss and interpret the health among peoples of the past. This research explores the bioarchaeology from two Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (9,000-8,500 BP) sites in south-central Levant, Kfar HaHoresh and Yiftahel, to uncover a record of health and social status in order to understand these sites in the context of the greater Levantine Pre-Pottery Neolithic period.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Kfar HaHoresh site served as a mortuary complex in which the elite from surrounding communities, such as Yiftahel, are buried (Goring-Morris 2000). This research examines the biological remains alongside the archaeological evidence …

The Avifauna Of Bawwab Al-Ghazal: A Zooarchaeological Analysis, Elissa A. Kinzelman

Masters Theses

In 1998 the Neolithic archaeological site of Bawwab al-Ghazal (ca. 11,500- 7,500 BP) was excavated by a team of researchers from the University of California, Riverside and Whitman College. Among the many artifacts recovered from the site, ranging from stone and shell beads to stone tools and related debitage, were an abundant sample of bird bones. Excavators shipped the sample, consisting of some 407 specimens, to the Anthropology Department of Western Michigan University for a faunal analysis.

This study seeks to illustrate the importance of bird remains in the archaeological record. The avifaunal analysis of Bawwab al-Ghazal began with identifying …

Determining Barriers To Service And Preferred Methods Of Nutrition Education For Working And Student Women, Infant, And Children (Wic) Participants, Stephanie L. Bess

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Wellness Knowledge On Physical Activity And Nutrition Behaviors Of College Age Students, Shecanna R. Woomer

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare college age students' knowledge about wellness to their physical activity and nutrition attitudes and behaviors. This study tested the knowledge of 202 college age students at Eastern Illinois University and gathered data on their physical activity and nutrition attitudes and behaviors. A modified Wellness Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior Instrument (WKABI) questionnaire was used for data collection (Dinger, 1994). The main focus of the study was to relate the score on the knowledge test to the score on the attitude survey and to the score on the behavior survey. Subgroup comparisons by major …

Non-Prescriptive Behavior Therapy: Effectiveness Of A Self-Help Book In Teaching Parents How To Manage Their Child’S “Picky Eating” Behavior, Sean T. Smitham

Masters Theses

The term "nonprescription" behavior therapies was first used by Rosen (1979) to describe behavioral interventions that could be totally self-administered without professional consultation. In his article, Rosen warned that empirical validation of self-help programs was needed. The present study examines the effectiveness of one such self-help program intended to help parents manage a minor pediatric feeding problem - "picky eating". "Picky Eating" (i.e., mild selectivity or selective eating) appears to be a common and relatively persistent feeding concern of otherwise typically developing children. Mild selectivity is usually regarded as a sub-clinical feeding problem. In the present study, five families with …

Microbial Community Structure In Hydrocarbon Impacted Sediment Associated With Anomalous Geophysical Signatures, Joseph W. Duris

Masters Theses

The Crystal Refinery is a former refinery site in Carson City Michigan that has had historic releases of refined and unrefined crude oil dating back to the late 1940's. The contamination of soil with light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPL) has had a dynamic impact on the subsurface environment in adjacent Carson City Park. Very little is known about the complex interactions between microbial communities, geochemistry and geophysics. In order to investigate possible connections between these parameters a multidisciplinary study was undertaken to investigate the hypothesis that the degradation of LNAPL by resident microbial communities causes a local increase in organic …