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Stratigraphic And Sedimentologic Analysis Of The Middle Devonian Filer Sandstone, John Charles Rodwan

Masters Theses

The Filer Sandstone, a multistory assemblage o£ lenticular sand bodies, is a member of the Middle Devonian Amherstburg Formation of the Detroit River Group in the subsurface of the western and central portion of the Michigan Basin. It is distinguished from the reworked eolian and nearshore marine sand facies of the underlying Sylvania Sandstone by recognition of its barrier island facies relationships and stratigraphic position within enclosing carbonates unique to the Amherstburg Formation. Lithologically, the Filer ranges from a fine-grained, carbonate-cemented, supermature quartzarenite at its upper shoreface facies, to a texturally-inverted sandy carbonate at its lagoonal facies. Facies distribution was …

An Investigation Into The Numeric Solution Of Linear Recurrence Relations, Dennis Lee Kapenga

Masters Theses

This is an investigation of the use of some techniques from numerical linear algebra in solving linear recurrence relations.

The classic methods of Oliver and Lozier are compared with several alternatives. These alternatives center on using advances in the theory of numerical linear algebra, computer software, and raw computer performance which have been made in the 15 years since the original research into linear recurrence relations was done.

A set of test examples is presented to provide a basis to compare solution methods. This set of examples was selected to allow experiments associated with the Poincare class of recurrence relations. …

Further Studies On Purification Of A Mannitol Binding Protein: Use Of Ph Gradients For Elution From Cation Exchange Resin, Kristyne Ann Baumgarten

Masters Theses

Studies on the purification of a mannitol binding protein (MBP) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO were performed. Utilizing the alkaline isoelectric point (pi 8.3) of MBP, pH gradients were used to elute MBP from carboxymethylcellulose cation exchange resins. Purification of MBP was monitored by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylam ide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Only one protein band was seen on SDS-PAGE from MBP fractions elutedat pH 7-8 and 8 .2. Although pH gradients appear to give good purification from cation exchange resins, these procedures lead to loss of MBP activity.

Gender-Related Language Usage As Related To Psychological Sex Role Orientation, Kathleen Mulder Parker

Masters Theses

The relationship between gender-related language and psychological sex role orientation is explored. Research findings are cited that support the existence of sexist language and the influence of language on thought. Evidence of the behavioral expectations re la tin g to psychological sex role orientation is presented. A relationship between psychological sex role orientation and gender-related speech usage is hypothesized. An instrument for measuring gender-related speech was developed and subsequently administered to a group of community college students along with the Bern Sex Role Inventory. The hypothesis is only supported for psychologically feminine participants who report significantly high use of feminine …

Strain Differences And Mutagen Treatment Influence Lectin Binding To Mouse Germ Cells, Marilyn Schmalz Holm

Masters Theses

Carbohydrate moieties on mouse germ cell surfaces were characterized by investigating the binding of FITC-labeled lectins to sperm and testis cells. Differences in lectin binding between different mouse strains, including T/t mice, were found. However, there was no evidence for the involvement of sialic acid or L-fucose in the T/t locus antigens. Antiserum to the t⁰, t⁶ haplotype was equally reactive to both ICR and T/t mouse testis cells in both immunofluorescence and cytotoxicity assays. Trypsinization of testis cells increased binding of soybean agglutinin and decreased binding of wheat germ agglutinin.

A method was developed for flow …

Prehistoric Firewood Exploitation: A Case Study From The Carolinian Biotic Province, David Gordon De Fant

Masters Theses

A case study approach is applied to the problem of prehistoric firewood selection and utilization within a heterogeneous woodland environment. Prefaced by an indepth survey of theoretical and methodological approaches relevant to understanding resource exploitation, a wood charcoal analysis of the Schwerdt site (20AE127) is presented. This analysis is then discussed in regard to environmental, preservational, and functional contexts. It is suggested that this wood charcoal assemblage represents a subtle yet pervasive pattern of firewood selectivity operating within the overt bounds of expedient procurement.

The Use Of Repeated Acquisition As A Technique For Establishing A Behavioral Baseline With Victims Of Alzheimer's Disease, Michelle D. Stone

Masters Theses

Three subjects suspected as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) victims were trained on a behavioral chain of three sets of three poker chips, each set differing in color and position, to investigate subtle changes in learning and performance behaviors over time. For each session the subjects learned a new three-response sequence with a marked poker chip serving as the correct response for each set. A within-session learning curve resulted for all three subjects with the errors in the learning trial (LT) exceeding the errors for the performance trials (PT1 and PT2). Only Subject III demonstrated a stable pattern of learning, with the …

Yeast Mannans: Use As A Transport Vehicle For Peptides, Jacqueline Cesario Lee

Masters Theses

Yeast mannans are phosphorylated glycopeptides found in various species of yeast. Their similarity to the mannose-phosphate signal for intracellular lysosomal uptake led mannans to be considered as a possible vehicle for increasing cellular affinity for peptides. Insulin was used as a model peptide and was conjugated to mannans by two coupling methods. The conjugated mannan-insulins were compared to insulin on the basis of cellular binding and ability to induce typical insulin biological effects.

The Ethnobotany Of The Pawpaw, Asimina Triloba (L.) Dunal, Brian Douglas Compton

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Bluegill (Lepomis Macrochirus) Population Of Lake Charleston, Coles Co. Illinois, Dale Douglas Lyon

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Hold-Release Mechanism In The Family Crotalidae, Ronald K. Easter

Masters Theses

Strike/release vs. strike/hold feeding behavior was observed for 5 Crotalus atrox and 5 Agkistrodon piscivorous. Two sizes of warm blooded prey were offered to the rattlesnakes on alternate weeks. Cottonmouths were offered, alternately, fish or mice of equal size. Although data varied among individual subjects, cottonmouths offered fish demonstrated the strike/hold behavior significantly more often than the strike/release behavior; cottonmouths offered mice struck and released significantly more often than they struck and held. It is concluded that the strike/hold strategy in sreponse to fish is adventageous because the danger of holding such prey is minimal and the release of …

Illustrations Of Fox Ridge State Park Mosses, Coles County, Illinois, Jamaliah Ahmad

Masters Theses

This thesis is a continuation of a study done by Dave A. Breen, B. S., M.S. in Botany (1985). Breen studied and collected the bryophytes of Fox Ridge State Park which is located aproximately 8 miles south of Charleston, Illinois in Coles County (Sec. 11, 12 and 13, T11N, R9E.). Breen found sixty eight species of mosses, one species new to Illinois and nine species new to Coles County. This additional illustrative work covers Breen's general taxonomic study. It is to be utilized in the identification of those mosses of the Fox Ridge State Park. Techniques used in illustrations were …

Administrative Field Experience, Richard E. Manuell

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Attitudes Of Preservice Elementary Teachers Toward Science And The Teaching Of Science, Gregory C. Schaeffer

Masters Theses

The importance of attitude toward the teaching and understanding of science has long been a concern of researchers. Its importance in the schools, as a means to influence academic achievement, continues to be felt. Teachers, often without trying, pass on to their students attitudes about science that are unproductive. It is, therefore, important for teachers to possess attitudes supporting the subjects that they teach. The problem then is determining what factors contribute to these teacher attitudes and how are they passed on to students.

Past research has failed to show conclusively what actually contributes to the creation of positive and …

Analysis And Trends Of Education And Employment: 1985 Fountain Central High School Graduates, Beverly J. Shelton

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived quality of education and the employment expectations of the 1985 graduates of Fountain Central High School and to gather current statistics on those graduates. Subjects comprised 103 graduates of a rural, west central Indiana public high school. The graduates were administered a survey to determine opinions and perceptions of education received, to determine whether they were employed or continuing their education, and to determine what trends may be developing or maintained.

Today' s students reflect a much wider range of preparation, as indicated by grades and class rank. The test …

Wit And Humor In Asl, Keila Tooley

Masters Theses

In his article "Linguistics and the Study of Poetic Language," Stankewicz (1960) characterizes poetic organization as "completely embedded in language and fully determined by its possibilities." The purpose of this study is to examine the form that poetic function assumes in a language that itself has a structural organization fundamentally different from that of oral languages and in which, accordingly, the possibilities for poetic organization are radically different.

In wit and poetry, elements of form and meaning—a linguistic system--are used to create complex multi-layered expressions with multiple meanings and systems of form and meaning. Similarities--and differences—in form, function and meaning …

The Effects Of Various Adenosine And Xanthine Analogues On Mammalian Sperm Motility, Daniel Joseph Cushing

Masters Theses

Caffeine, theophylline, and a number of other xanthine analogues have been shown to stimulate the motility of mammalian spermatozoa. The mechanism by which these compounds act was assumed to be cAMP phosphodiesterase inhibition. However, it has recently been shown that many of the responses elicited by alkylxanthines and their analogues in various tissues are not the result of cAMP phosphodiesterase inhibition but by antagonism of endogenous adenosine. Using the recently described transmembrane migration method this study observed the effect of a number of xanthine and adenosine analogues on mammalian sperm motility. The hypothesis to be tested was that the increase …

Factors Affecting The Predator-Prey Relationship Between Predaceous Diving Beetle Larvae (Dytiscus Fasciventris) And Two Anuran Tadpole Species (Bufo Americanus And Hyla Crucifer), Todd S. Campbell

Masters Theses

It has previously been demonstrated that American toad (Bufo americanus) tadpoles are more vulnerable to predation by diving beetle larvae (Dytiscus fasciventris) than are spring peeper (Hyla crucifer) tadpoles. A laboratory study was undertaken to further delineate factors that contribute to the differential vulnerability observed. Beetle larvae are more effective tadpole predators in shallow, than in deep, water and appear to prefer to adopt a "sit-and-wait" predator strategy while clinging to emergent vegetation. Depth preference experiments in the laboratory indicated that both tadpole species prefer deep areas to shallow areas irrespective of whether a …

Mating Behavior Of The Giant Waterbug Belostoma Flumineum Say, Janet E. Ruppert

Masters Theses

Sexual selection theory predicts that in the few species where males make a larger parental investment than females and limit female reproduction, females should court and compete for males (i.e. we should observe "sex-role reversal"--Trivers, 1972). These predictions were tested in the laboratory with the giant waterbug Belostoma flumineum Say (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae) . Males of this species characteristically carry and brood eggs on their dorsa, thus making a substantial parental investment.

The courtship sequence in "one male:one female" pairings began with the male "pumping" (rapidly raising and lowering his abdomen at the water's surface). This presumably attracted the female, …

Fuel Loading For A Low-Leakage Core In A Pressurized Water Reactor, Omar Ivan Aguilar

Masters Theses

"A study of low-leakage core fuel loading as a means to reduce fast neutron flux incident upon the pressure vessel is presented. The specific case under study is Cycle 5 of Arkansas Nuclear One - Unit Two (ANO-2), a Combustion Engineering Pressurized Water Reactor. Neutron transport calculations were performed using the DOT two-dimensional transport code. The results from DOT provide the angular distribution of the fast neutron flux at the surface of the pressure vessel.

Seven different fuel loading schemes were studied and compared to the Reference Case. The angular distribution of the fast neutron flux for all cases studied …

Selection Of Remedial Engineering Techniques For Dioxin-Contaminated Soil Sites ; Based On Site Geological Characteristics, Jeffrey John Lux

Masters Theses

"Specific geologic, hydrologic, and topographic characteristics influence the selection of technologies employed in the remediation of sites affected by dioxin-contaminated soil. These characteristics are significant in the selection of equipment and methods for excavation and materials processing.

The only currently sociologically acceptable method of treatment of dioxin-contaminated soils is incineration. As more is learned concerning the nature of dioxin sorption to soil particles and the mobility of dioxin in the environment, long-term storage in underground mines, and land burial appear to offer strong potential alternatives. Strong public sentiment against non-destructive remedial options would have to be overcome. There are also …

Spotted Owls In Harvested Areas, Kathleen R. Nickell

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Ectoparasites Of Geomys Bursarius Illinoensis, Rick L. Miller

Masters Theses

This study was conducted to determine what ectoparasitic organisms are found on the pairie pocket gophers, Geomys burasrius, occurring in an isolated population in northeastern Illinois. The study area was a five hectare grassland community composed predominately of sandy soil, located in northeastern Iriquois Co., two miles north and three miles east of Beaverville, IL.

A total of 19 pocket gophers were captured from October 2 to November 17, 1983. Blood was collected and smears were made in the field. Hosts were examined for ectoparasites in the laboratory. Six hundred and nine ectoparasitic organisms were isolated representing a mean …

Characterization Of The Capsular Polysaccharides On Cell Membranes Of Rhizobium Trifolii And Three Of Its Nod- Mutants, Jesse Ardosa

Masters Theses

The ever-present specter of the inavailability of food production to increase in direct proportion to population growth haunts practically every nation of the world. As more and more tracts of land are incorporated to accommodate expanding cities, they become less available for food production. Emphasis, therefore, is placed on obtaining a higher yield per acreage planted. Since fertilization is not reliable in the long term due to an eventual depletion of raw materials for fertilizers, the ability of plants like legumes to assimilate free soil nitrogen on their own has become increasingly important [1,11,14,17]. However, the mechanisms involved are still …

Converting The Bement Junior High School To The Bement Middle School, Greg Zollman

Masters Theses

The town of Bement, Illinois, had an elementary school (K-8) and a high school (9-12) prior to 1976. The Bement Community Unit School District initiated its junior high school in 1976. This school consisted of the seventh and eighth grades.

During the 1983-84 school year, the administrators of the Bement schools expressed a general concern with the academic grades, social development, and behavior that was occurring in the Bement Junior High School. They indicated that many of the problems were the result of having the junior high school students housed with the senior high school students. They perceived that some …

Analysis Of The Charleston, Illinois Water Supply For The Presence Of Organic Mutagens Utilizing The Ames Salmonella/Microsome Assay, Steven Lee Washburn

Masters Theses

Water samples from the Charleston, Illinois water supply and selected agricultural run-off areas were tested for the presence of organic mutagenic chemicals. The Ames Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity assay utilizing strains TA98 and TA100 was used to analyze concentrated water samples. A special set of samples was exposed to the S9 activation system coupled with the TA98 strain to simulate the mammalian metabolic system.

No mutagens were detected in any of the samples tested. Several positive and negative control systems were included in the testing system. Negative control systems were used to determine the average spontaneous reversion rates for each strain for …

The Use Of Motor Coordination Endpoints In The F1 Generation To Evaluate For Effects Of Ethylmethanesulfonate On Pre- And Post-Meiotic Sperm Cells Of Male Mice, Lee Goldner

Masters Theses

Groups of 5 male HA(ICR) mice were injected intraperitoneally with 60, 150, 300, or 600 mg/kg body weight of ethylmethanesulfonate or with a saline control. Each male was mated to two untreated females at two weeks after treatment and then again at five weeks after treatment. The treatment groups were labelled post-meiotic and pre-meiotic relative to the stage of spermatogenesis at time of treatment. Progeny were evaluated by observations of litter size, body weight, negative geotactic response, swimming patterns, limb use, water escape time and open field motor coordination activity. Body weight, geotactic response, limb use and open field motor …

The Hamilton Rating Scale For Depression And Rhythmic Competency: A Correlational Study, Michael J. Migliore

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a relationship between a test of rhythmic competency and the psychomotor retardation subtest of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Twenty-six endogenously depressed inpatient adults participated in a medication-free pretest. Posttests were administered When a) values reached therapeutic blood levels and b) subjects were clinically observed to have improved. Results demonstrated modest correlations between the Hamilton scale and several subtests of the Rhythmic Competency measure; however, based on this study, the Rhythmic Competency Test could not be recommended as an indicator of psychomotor retardation.

The Effects Of Cigarette Smoking And Vitamin E On The Morphology Of Mice Testes, Kathleen Grams Hall

Masters Theses

Epidemiological studies have produced evidence to support an association between cigarette smoking and abnormal sperm morphology. At the least , an effect on sperm morphology indicates the involvement of the testis. Therefore, the research was designed to survey the potential of cigarette smoking for inducing histopathology in the testes of mice, and if there was damage, would vitamin E overcome it.

In the present study the testes of C57BL/6 mive exposed to cigarette smoke and/or vitamin E and 22 control mice were histologically processed. Sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin were assessed for total histopathology and revealed statistically significant differences …

The Prehistory Of The Birch Run Road Site, Saginaw County, Michigan, Caven P. Clark

Masters Theses

The Birch Run Road site (20SA393), located in the archaeologic ally complex Saginaw Valley, was partially impacted by the extension of Birch Run Road across the Flint River. In many respects typical of Saginaw Valley sites as a whole, the Birch Run Road site produced artifacts attributable to the Early Archaic, Late Archaic, Late Woodland and historic periods. The prehistoric occupations are evaluated with special attention to the context and form of lithic raw materials, and use of projectile points in determining temporal placement. The Late Woodland component, ca. A.D. 800-1100, represents the most intensive occupation of the site. Physical …