Digital Commons Network^™

Teaching Writing With Play: A Study Of Community-Based Science Education In A National Park, Jamie Remillard

Open Access Dissertations

Teaching Writing with Play: A Study of Community-Based Science Education in a National Park is a rhetorical ethnography designed to bring the lessons of community-based science education and science communication practices to bear on the university writing classroom. I examined how park rangers use engaged, playful methods to educate people about scientific and technical issues that affect coastal communities. Through three years of ethnographic field research and collaborative writing with the National Park Service, I investigated evolving public outreach programs at Fire Island National Seashore (FIIS) in New York during a time when heightened public contention about science-based decision-making created …

Spatial Distribution, Air-Water Exchange, And Toxicity Of Organic Pollutants Using Passive Samplers, Carrie A. Mcdonough

Open Access Dissertations

Thousands of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) are present in air and water worldwide, yet we know little about how these chemicals’ concentrations vary spatially and temporally, or what biological effects they have in concert. The first four studies described in this dissertation present data from a sampling campaign in which passive polyethylene samplers (PEs) deployed throughout the lower Great Lakes region (Lake Erie and Lake Ontario) from 2011 to 2014. Results were used to deduce air-water fluxes and analyze spatial trends of the truly gaseous and dissolved fraction of three distinct groups of HOCs: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polycyclic musks …

Anthelmintic Efficacy Of Bioactive Compounds Within Cranberry Vine And Birdsfoot Trefoil, Carly Barone

Open Access Dissertations

With the growth of resistance to commercial dewormers in small ruminant gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN), alternative methods are needed for GIN control. It has been shown that plants containing certain secondary compounds (SC) suppress GIN infection, but there is a lack of knowledge concerning the mechanism behind this anthelmintic activity, as well as a lack of viable alternatives to commercial dewormers in the northeastern United States. Secondary compounds, such as proanthocyanidin (PAC), have complex chemical structures that vary between plant species, while SC concentrations can vary between different varieties of the same species. The relationship between specific SC and anti-parasitic efficacy …

Identity, Awareness, Action: A Study Of White Anti-Racist Faculty Praxis At Two Predominantly White Institutions, David Brian Hayes

Open Access Dissertations

Despite decades of research into the racial construct known as whiteness (e.g., Roediger, 1991; Frankenberg, 1993; Leonardo, 2002), as well as on white privilege and racism within predominantly white institutions (PWIs) (e.g., Harper & Hurtado, 2007), little research exists exploring the work of white faculty who confront racism in teaching, research, or service. In this study, I applied a Critical White Studies (Delgado & Stefancic, 1997) analytical frame to a Constructivist Grounded Theory (Charmaz, 2006) study of white anti-racist faculty in two predominantly white institutions within a state higher education system. The study used interviews with 11 white faculty members …

Biotransformation And Pharmacokinetic Evaluation Of Pf-5190457, A Novel Drug Candidate For Alcoholism, Sravani Adusumalli

Open Access Dissertations

Alcohol use disorder is a chronic condition characterized by an inability to control alcohol intake. Recent research has shown that appetite-regulating hormones, ghrelin, and leptin, may play a role in alcohol craving. In addition, it is known that food and alcohol craving have overlapping receptors in the brain reward system. Ghrelin, a naturally occurring hormone in the human body, is produced mainly by ghrelinergic cells of the gastric mucosa. Once the hormone crosses the blood-brain barrier, it binds to growth hormone secretagogue receptor (ghrelin receptor) in the hypothalamus and stimulates the appetite and food intake. Leptin, a hormone produced from …

Atlantic Mackerel (Scomber Scombrus) Population And Habitat Trends In The Northwest Atlantic, Michael Conor Mcmanus

Open Access Dissertations

Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) has long been a significant marine resource in the northwest Atlantic, supporting commercial and recreational fisheries over two centuries. As a small pelagic fish feeding on planktonic organisms, mackerel serve a critical role in the marine food web as prey for higher trophic level species, including large predatory fish, marine mammals, and sea birds. Significant harvest pressure and recent low abundances and landings have led to questioning whether such removals have jeopardized the fishery and ecosystem’s sustainability. Further complicating management, mackerel populations throughout the North Atlantic have been significantly influenced by climate change, represented …

Global Dynamics And Boundedness Of Discrete Population Models, David T. Mcardle

Open Access Dissertations

Discrete dynamical systems are widely used in biological and entomological applications to model interacting populations. The manuscripts included in this thesis present global dynamic results for three different population models. Manuscript 1 presents basic concepts and definitions for general systems of difference equations in order to lay the theoretical foundation for the remaining sections.

Manuscript 2 discusses competitive systems of difference equations with the form

[Mathematical equations can not be displayed here, refer to PDF]

where the parameters b₁, b₂ are positive real numbers and α₁, α₂, c₁, c₂ and …

Stress, Coping, Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Health And Cortisol In Premature Infants, At Age 23, Joyce Ellen Hickey

Open Access Dissertations

Little is known about the psychobiological processes of adults, at age 23 who were born prematurely. Compared to infants born at term, premature infants face additional obstacles of immature body systems, more neonatal stress and are at risk for developmental delay and possible parental overprotective patterns. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease theory asserts that early prenatal and neonatal stress disturbs hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function, which in the long run, affects later health and behavior. The purpose of this secondary analysis is to examine neonatal stress of prematurity on coping, emotional intelligence, physiological responses, developmental milestones and emotional health …

Investigating And Comparing The Mechanisms Of Behavior Change To Prevent Smoking Acquisition In Middle School Students, Allie W. Scott

Open Access Dissertations

The disease consequences of smoking such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and lung cancer, are well documented (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1964, 1989, and 2010). One clear finding from epidemiological studies is that the early uptake of smoking during adolescence can lead to addiction in adulthood. A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found nearly 9 out of 10 adult cigarette smokers tried their first cigarette as minors and 99% tried smoking by age 26 (CDC, 2017). To mitigate smoking incidence and reduce the harm caused by smoking, a number of primary prevention …

Ces Involved Inhibition And Regulation, Yuanjun Shen

Open Access Dissertations

Sofosbuvir has been widely adopted for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection therapies through its effect as HCV non-structured protein 5B (NS5B) inhibitor, which is essential for HCV particle assembly. Sofosbuvir, as a prodrug, is activated through the hydrolysis by carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) and is reported to have limited interactions with cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP450) and p-glycoprotein, which results in less clinical drug-drug interactions. However, reports showed fatal or nephrotoxic cases that utilized a co-therapy of Sofosbuvir with an anti-Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) agent, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF). This study was designed to give one explanation for these case reports. Interestingly, …

Genetic, Demographic And Ecological Factors Contributing To The Evolution Of Anolis Lizard Populations, Johanna E. Wegener

Open Access Dissertations

Geographic and environmental factors can be catalysts of evolutionary processes and central drivers of genetic and phenotypic differentiation. Characteristic patterns of genetic and phenotypic variation elucidate whether predominately adaptive or non-adaptive processes are involved in shaping variation among populations. Such genetic and phenotypic signatures can provide insight in how specific extrinsic factors relate to adaptive and non-adaptive processes. This dissertation aims to investigate whether and how disturbance events, intraspecific competition and secondary contact after a species introduction contribute to genetic and phenotypic differentiation among populations of Anolis lizard.

In chapter 1, I tested whether patterns of genetic diversity and differentiation …

The Influence Of Altered Habitat: Landscape Ecology Of Freshwater Turtles In Rhode Island, Scott W. Buchanan

Open Access Dissertations

Beginning several centuries ago, European settlement brought great change to the landscape of New England. Vast deforestation, subsequent reforestation, and rapid development that continues to this day have had a profound impact on wildlife populations. Elements of this legacy of landscape change have been studied, but the ways in which past and current landscape patterns affect freshwater turtles remains poorly understood. The primary objective of this research was to better understand the influence of the landscape of Rhode Island on populations of freshwater turtles. It is in many ways a work in landscape ecology, but with components of spatial ecology, …

Student Engagement: Factors Affecting The Academic Performance And Persistence Of Hispanic Women In Stem, Maria E. Vaca

Open Access Dissertations

Hispanics are poised to change the U.S. demographic landscape and account for one-third of the national population in the next forty years (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). Yet, presently Hispanic students are the most underrepresented ethnic group in higher education with the lowest college completion rates the country (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2015b). Furthermore, Hispanic women are reported to attain only 3% of all STEM bachelor’s degrees nationally (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2015a). The purpose of this study was to examine student engagement as a factor that predicts academic performance and …

Mechanisms Of Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cell Improvement Of Endothelial Function In Patients With Heart Failure And Frailty, Courtney Heather Premer

Open Access Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and worldwide. Furthermore, CVD is heavily linked to frailty, a comorbidity afflicting elderly patients. Endothelial dysfunction-characterized by diminished endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) function and flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD)-is central to the pathophysiology of heart failure (HF) and frailty. Current therapies are unable to reverse or stop the progression of these diseases, lending way to the emergence of regenerative medicine approaches and the use of stem cells, most notably mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). MSCs are pro-angiogeneic, immunomodulatory, antifibrotic, and also stimulate endogenous endothelial cell proliferation and function, …

Ecological And Policy Studies To Forecast The Future Of Mosquito-Borne Disease Control, Jill Nicole Ulrich

Open Access Dissertations

Now is a critical time for mosquito-borne disease (MBD) control. Although the reductions in the burden of malaria over the past decade and a half have saved more than a million lives, during the same period many mosquito-borne arboviruses have expanded in incidence and geographical range, causing large epidemics. With traditional mosquito control tools losing the battle against insecticide resistance and new biological control tools still in field trials, it is critical that MBD experts take a systematic approach to prepare for the future. The new biocontrol strategy of combating dengue fever with Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti is being tested at …

An Integrative And Interdisciplinary Approach To Shark Conservation: Policy Solutions, Ecosystem Role, And Stakeholder Attitudes, David S. Shiffman

Open Access Dissertations

The goal of this interdisciplinary dissertation is to assess how scientific research, public advocacy, and policy change interact in the context of shark conservation.

The Role Of Ephb3 In Cortical Vascular Integrity Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Poincyane Assis-Nascimento

Open Access Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) continues to be a major health concern worldwide. One of the earliest and most profound deficits comes from vascular damage and breakdown of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Despite the consequences of blood vessel destruction, little is known of the cellular responses that occur in vessel integrity following TBI. B class ephrins and Eph receptors are membrane bound proteins that initiate bidirectional signals during cell-cell interactions, and are indispensable for developmental and pathological neovascularization. The role of EphB3 and its ligand ephrinB3 was investigated in vascular integrity in a murine controlled cortical impact (CCI) injury model of …

Condos, Connectivity, And Catch: Analyzing The State Of The Bahamian Spiny Lobster Fishery., Karlisa Alicia Callwood

Open Access Dissertations

Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) is a heavily exploited seafood throughout its range and supports the primary fishery in The Bahamas. However, its long pelagic larval duration and, thus, potential for long-range dispersal increases the difficulty in determining the origins of local populations and complicates management. In recent years, the Bahamian fishery has transitioned to the use of condos (or casitas) as the primary fishing method. Condos are relatively inexpensive to construct and deploy, and it is estimated there are now over a million deposited throughout the Bahama banks. Collectively, these factors, coupled with an increased level of effort in …

Ecological And Genomic Patterns Of The Threatened Coral Acropora Cervicornis, Crawford Reeves Drury

Open Access Dissertations

The staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, is an important reef-building species on Caribbean reefs that has undergone severe population declines in recent decades. As the abundance of this species has diminished, restoration efforts using the coral gardening method have become increasingly common as a method of mitigating these losses. Using a large scale outplanting experiment, we find evidence of high phenotypic plasticity and low local adaptation driven by coral genotype and the environment, which subtly interact. The flexibility of the growth and survivorship response in this species gives concrete value to genetic diversity, which is variable across regional spatial scales and …

Interactions Between Stress-Induced Inflammation, Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 (Gsk3), And Depression, Yuyan Cheng

Open Access Dissertations

Major depressive disorder is a prevalent disease that is inadequately treated with available interventions, and recovery is difficult, particularly in patients refractory to antidepressant treatments. Studying the learned helplessness depression model in mice, we examined mechanisms regulating its initiation and regulating its reversibility. Stress increases susceptibility to depression in patients and rodent models, and depression is associated with aberrant activation of inflammation. We found multiple inflammatory cytokines were increased in mouse plasma and hippocampus after a paradigm of inescapable foot shock stress that causes learned helplessness. A 24 hr prior pre-conditioning stress accelerated the rate of stress-induced plasma and hippocampal …

Management Of Preoperative Distress By Anesthesia Providers In Toddlers And Preschoolers, Rossana Bizzio- Knott

Open Access Dissertations

The period of time associated with a child’s preparation for surgery and induction of general anesthesia is one of the most stressful events a child can experience. It is estimated that 40-60% of children experience preoperative anxiety before induction of anesthesia. Toddlers and preschoolers’ cognitive limitations, lack of self-control, high level of dependency on adults, and their limited understanding of the healthcare process make them prone to experience distress and excessive anxiety during the preoperative period. This inability to fully comprehend or manage the hospitalization experience leads to preoperative distress. Children’s preoperative distress has also been linked to ineffective coping …

Who’S Shaping Who’S Opinions? Estimating The Degree Of Influence Exerted By Each Contact In A Social Network, Luis Eduardo Castro Abril

Open Access Dissertations

It is important in domains such as organizational behavior, politics, marketing, sociology, psychology, engineering, and economics to study how people that belong to a network form their opinions on a specific topic, how these opinions evolve, and how a consensus is reached. Researchers have mainly focused on estimating hidden opinions, identifying opinion trends, opinion leaders, consensus points, and the impact of the structure of the network on consensus. This dissertation proposes a model that (a) enables the tracking of the opinions of every member of a network, and (b) helps identifying who is influencing who’s opinions and to what degree …

Efficient Processing Of Similarity Queries With Applications, Mingjie Tang

Open Access Dissertations

Today, a myriad of data sources, from the Internet to business operations to scientific instruments, produce large and different types of data. Many application scenarios, e.g., marketing analysis, sensor networks, and medical and biological applications, call for identifying and processing similarities in "big" data. As a result, it is imperative to develop new similarity query processing approaches and systems that scale from low dimensional data to high dimensional data, from single machine to clusters of hundreds of machines, and from disk-based to memory-based processing. This dissertation introduces and studies several similarity-aware query operators, analyzes and optimizes their performance.

The first …

Synthesis And Performance Of Novel Supramolecular Tools For Single-Particle Cryogenic Electron Microscopy And Drug And Gene Delivery, Kyle J. Wright

Open Access Dissertations

High-resolution biomacromolecular structure elucidation is fundamentally important to structure-based drug design and basic research into complex biochemical processes. Cryo-EM is an emerging alternative to XRD and NMR that is complementary in many ways relative to XRD and NMR. Materials approaches to cryo-EM are anticipated to greatly facilitate the cryo-EM process, allowing progress toward a more high-throughput application of cryo-EM to address challenges in structural biology. ^ Various affinity-based approaches inspired by approaches previously introduced for 2D crystallization were developed for facilitation of cryo-EM. A library of affinity lipopolymer constructs were synthesized consisting of lipopolymers of various PEG molecular weights conjugated …

Complex Glycan Utilization Preferences Of Human Gut Bacteria, Yunus Emre Tuncil

Open Access Dissertations

Complex glycans, making up dietary fiber, have gained significance in recent years as they are the main energy source for the colonic microbiota which are physiologically important for the host health. Understanding glycan utilization strategies of the members of this community is essential to maximize beneficial health outcomes obtained from them. In order to investigate how the members of our gut microbiota utilize glycans and activate their respective polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs), we performed a series of time-course assays in which two model organisms, Bacteroides thetaiotamicron (Bt) and B. ovatus (Bo), were individually grown in a medium containing carbohydrates utilized …

Ros Regulation Of Axonal Mitochondrial Transport, Pin-Chao Liao

Open Access Dissertations

Mitochondria perform critical functions including aerobic ATP production and calcium (Ca2+) homeostasis, but are also a major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. To maintain cellular function and survival in neurons, mitochondria are transported along axons, and accumulate in regions with high demand for their functions. Oxidative stress and abnormal mitochondrial axonal transport are associated with neurodegenerative disorders. However, we know little about the connection between these two. Using primaryDrosophila neuronal cell culture and the third instar larval nervous system as in vitro and in vivo models, respectively, we studied mitochondrial transport under oxidative stress conditions. In vitro …

Annual Forage Cropping-Systems For Midwestern Ruminant Livestock Production, John Ernest Mcmillan

Open Access Dissertations

Annual forage cropping systems are a vital aspect of livestock forage production. One area where this production system can be enhanced is the integration of novel annual forages into conventional cropping systems. Two separate projects were conducted to investigate alternative forage options in annual forage production. In the first discussed research trial, two sets of crops were sown following soft red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain harvest, at two nitrogen application rates 56 and 112 kg ha-1 . The first set of crops were C4 summer annuals seeded within two weeks of wheat grain harvest and included, brown …

In-Column Polymer Modifications: Advancing Polymer Bonded Phases, Alexis G. Huckabee

Open Access Dissertations

Glycosylation is the most common post-translational modification affecting protein activities, including delivery to cell surface, binding affinity, and mediating different physiological effects. Separations of glycoproteins and their glycoforms are essential for drug discovery and development, identification of potential disease biomarkers and quality control. The efficiency of glycoprotein separations is limited by the bonded phases, requiring advances in chromatographic materials. Such advances would improve resolution, allowing for more species to be isolated from a mixture and studied.

Our group found that submicrometer nonporous silica stationary phases with tethered polymer chains (acrylamide) give excellent hydrophilic liquid chromatography (HILIC), a common method used …

Impact Of Dietary Modification On Aflatoxicosis In Poultry, Xi Chen

Open Access Dissertations

Aflatoxin contamination in feed and feed ingredients is of high worldwide prevalence, posing serious risks to the livestock industry. A series of studies were conducted to better understand the comprehensive impact of aflatoxicosis and its interrelationships with dietary modifications in broiler chicks and ducks. Results of these studies emphasize the many factors that the severity of aflatoxicosis depends on, including animal species, age, presence of mycotoxin adsorbent, and concentration of major dietary nutrients. Exposure to 2 mg/kg cultured AFB1 led to reduced feed intake, BW gain, depressed feed efficiency, increased relative liver weight, negatively affected serum measures and complement activity, …

Utilization Of Ferrioxamine Microarrays For The Rapid Detection Of Pathogenic Bacteria, Nigam Bir Arora

Open Access Dissertations

Siderophores are low-molecular weight species utilized by bacteria for the sequestration of iron, an essential nutrient. Siderophores and their cognate receptors are considered to be virulence factors, due to their prominent role in pathogenicity. The work presented here focuses on ferrioxamine (FOx) as an “immutable” ligand for pathogen detection. A number of bacterial strains expressing high-affinity FOx receptors were identified by a proteomic BLAST search, and screened against microarrays patterned with FOx conjugates for detection using label-free optical imaging. Aspects such as inkjet printing and surface chemistry, iron-limiting conditions and bacterial selection protocols, and linker conjugate design were addressed and …