Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Theses and Dissertations

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication Year
File Type

Articles 3691 - 3720 of 15033

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Yolkkh: The Story Of My People, Amna Zelimkha Yandarbin Jan 2021

Yolkkh: The Story Of My People, Amna Zelimkha Yandarbin

Theses and Dissertations

The name of my project is: Yolkkh, The Story of My People. With this project I present a series of scarves each one bearing an illustrated scene in order to tell a story – my story and the story of the Noxci people. Noxci are the people who are referred to as “Chechens” by Russians and are generally known by that title. As a Muslim, I have witnessed the way Western media tend to dehumanize my community. In order to contrast this dehumanizing process, I thought that telling the story of my family would help reverse Islamophobic tendencies and raise …


Art Museum Docent Coordinators’ Perceptions: A Difficult Kind Of Balancing Act, Jennifer E. Schero Jan 2021

Art Museum Docent Coordinators’ Perceptions: A Difficult Kind Of Balancing Act, Jennifer E. Schero

Theses and Dissertations

With visitors numbering in the millions, museums provide numerous entry points for attendees to engage with the objects in their care, including offering tours of their collections. Looking specifically at art museums, many institutions utilize volunteers to facilitate these guided looking experiences. Considerable research within the field of museum education focuses on the qualities of effective touring and methods and theories to support these endeavors. However, there is a lack of research focusing on the docent coordinators who oversee these volunteer guides. This study utilizes interpretive phenomenological analysis to explore perceptions of encyclopedic art museum docent coordinators concerning their preparation …


Third Culture Kids - Playing To Heal, Amna Sana Jan 2021

Third Culture Kids - Playing To Heal, Amna Sana

Theses and Dissertations

With increased globalization and a large expat population, Qatar is home to increasing numbers of Third Culture Kids (TCKs). TCKs are children who live in a country where their parents are non-native, children who grow up between cultures. Young TCKs, especially children between the ages of three and seven, do not possess the skills to adequately vocalize their feelings, but fortunately, play therapy allows them to articulate problems and feelings on their own terms. This thesis addresses the emotional hurdles facing TCKs, using concepts derived from play therapy and offering a series of interactive objects designed to reflect emotional expression …


Why We Follow Celebrities: An Examination Of Parasocial Interaction And Fan Engagement In A Celebrities’ Social Media Pages, Mohammed A. Alasmari Jan 2021

Why We Follow Celebrities: An Examination Of Parasocial Interaction And Fan Engagement In A Celebrities’ Social Media Pages, Mohammed A. Alasmari

Theses and Dissertations

Social media sites have become essential for organizations and celebrities, allowing them to build relationships and interact with fans. Previous research found openness and perceived interactivity to improve social media engagement. The current study used the concepts of parasocial interactions and relationships to enhance the current knowledge of how celebrities influence their followers through Twitter. The study looked at perceived openness, perceived interactivity, and media engagement in relation to parasocial interaction and relationships using the Qualtrics survey response from 905 participants on Fayez Al-Malki’s Twitter page. The results indicated that both celebrities' and followers' posts employed openness and perceived interactivity, …


A Novel Immunostimulatory Platform For Amplifying The Abscopal Response Rates Of Radiation Therapy, Patrick A. Paez Jan 2021

A Novel Immunostimulatory Platform For Amplifying The Abscopal Response Rates Of Radiation Therapy, Patrick A. Paez

Theses and Dissertations

Radiation therapy (RT) is one of the primary treatment modalities for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). At the time of diagnosis two-thirds of HNSCC patients have local-advanced disease and 50-60% of these patients will experience a local-regional or metastatic relapse within three years. Improving the immunogenic response of RT may help address this clinical problem. However, current RT regimens have failed to reliably generate robust antitumor immunity as evidenced by the rarity of clinical abscopal responses. Recently we engineered a chimeric fusion molecule called Flagrp170, a novel immunostimulatory agent highly capable of promoting antigen presentation and T-cell activation. …


Impact Of Targeting Glycosylated Ceramides On Tumorigenic Properties, And Characterization Of Sphingolipids In Head And Neck Tumors, Katherine E. Hylton Jan 2021

Impact Of Targeting Glycosylated Ceramides On Tumorigenic Properties, And Characterization Of Sphingolipids In Head And Neck Tumors, Katherine E. Hylton

Theses and Dissertations

Sphingolipids play a crucial role in signaling, membrane structure, and migration, making them important molecules in cancer development, metastasis, and drug resistance. While some sphingolipids have been associated with pro-apoptotic or pro-survival behaviors, the role of many sphingolipids in cancer remains poorly defined. Chapter 1 of this study investigated the impact of three enzymes that compose most of the ceramide to Lc3 ceramide pathway – UGCG, GBA, and B3GNT5 – and how their alteration impacts chemoresistance and basal membrane invasion in vitro. It was found that the CΒE-induced inhibition of GBA, which converts glucosylceramide to ceramide, has no effects on …


A Spatiotemporal Assessment Of Fish Assemblage Response To Land-Use Change And The Evaluation Of Edna Metabarcoding For Describing Diverse Fish Communities, Timothy M. Owen Jan 2021

A Spatiotemporal Assessment Of Fish Assemblage Response To Land-Use Change And The Evaluation Of Edna Metabarcoding For Describing Diverse Fish Communities, Timothy M. Owen

Theses and Dissertations

Fish assemblages are often assessed as a biological proxy for environmental health. While humans value healthy environments for the ecosystem services and recreational opportunities they provide, it is increasingly evident that such resources can be paradoxically degraded by anthropogenic activities. In this investigation, we studied the relationship between different intensities of anthropogenic land-use change and habitat-driven fish assemblage response across multiple spatiotemporal scales. Secondarily, we explored the efficacy of eDNA metabarcoding against conventional electrofishing techniques for the purpose of describing complete fish communities. This study was conducted in the Tuckahoe Creek basin near Richmond, Virginia. This James River tributary serves …


The Impact Of Healthcare Professional Students' Racial, Hiv-Related, And Abortion-Related Biases On Recommendations For Prenatal Care, Alison J. Patev Jan 2021

The Impact Of Healthcare Professional Students' Racial, Hiv-Related, And Abortion-Related Biases On Recommendations For Prenatal Care, Alison J. Patev

Theses and Dissertations

Black women and HIV-positive women have increased maternal mortality rates and other negative pregnancy outcomes, in part due to disparate prenatal care. Although women who seek abortions do not have the same negative outcomes, abortion stigma exists and is normalized in healthcare. Limited work has examined prenatal care provision for women in these groups, and even less work has explored the prenatal care provision by healthcare trainees (i.e., medical, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant students). Examining the role of bias on the prioritization of prenatal care items by healthcare trainees is imperative. Healthcare education sets the stage for future practice, …


Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation: Application To Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation And Computational Modeling, Neil Mittal Jan 2021

Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation: Application To Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation And Computational Modeling, Neil Mittal

Theses and Dissertations

Loss of motor function from spinal cord injuries (SCI) results in loss of independence. Rehabilitation efforts are targeted to enhance the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs), but outcomes from physical therapy alone are often insufficient. Neuromodulation techniques that induce neuroplasticity may push the limits on recovery. Neuromodulation by intermittent theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (iTBS) induces neuroplasticity by increasing corticomotor excitability, though this has most frequently been studied with motor targets and on individuals not in need of rehabilitation. Increased corticomotor excitability is associated with motor learning. The response to iTBS, however, is highly variable and unpredictable, …


Molecular Basis Of Cross-Sensitization In Colonic Inflammation-Induced Somatic Hypersensitivity, Parshva K. Mehta Jan 2021

Molecular Basis Of Cross-Sensitization In Colonic Inflammation-Induced Somatic Hypersensitivity, Parshva K. Mehta

Theses and Dissertations

A major portion of pain experienced by patients with an Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) or Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) can be attributed to visceral hypersensitivity. Visceral stimuli transmitted through primary afferent neurons in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) induce a nociceptive response. Notably, a subset of patients has also experienced the development of somatic pain, such as leg pain, after diagnosis of a bowel disorder. The aim of this investigation is to ascertain which biochemical mediators are involved in the development of such viscerosomatic cross-sensitization. Initially, the Von Frey Test was used to find behavioral evidence of somatic referred pain; …


Military Combat Veterans, Sentencing Reform, And Problem-Solving Courts, Andrea Sivanich Jan 2021

Military Combat Veterans, Sentencing Reform, And Problem-Solving Courts, Andrea Sivanich

Theses and Dissertations

Military veterans involved with the criminal justice system may have unique behavioral health and physical needs, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury (TBI), and could benefit from sentence mitigation that emphasizes rehabilitation. This research is related to sentencing reform and how it may support problem-solving court sentencing, as a subset of community-based treatment options within the criminal justice system. This research is important in that it attempts to determine whether the law distinguishes veteran offenders, as a specific population, from other offenders with treatment needs. To do that, this dissertation examines the role of legal texts in …


Role Of Schlafen 12 In Lung Adenocarcinoma And Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Sarmad Al-Marsoummi Jan 2021

Role Of Schlafen 12 In Lung Adenocarcinoma And Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Sarmad Al-Marsoummi

Theses and Dissertations

Schlafens are a family of genes expressed in a wide range of mammals, including rodents and humans. Schlafens are grouped based on molecular structure and size into the short, intermediate, and long Schlafen families. Mice express all three families of Schlafens; in contrast, humans express only long and intermediate Schlafens. Schlafens have diverse functions, including cell proliferation, cell differentiation, immune cell growth and maturation, viral replication, cancer cell biology, and chemosensitivity. Our studies have focused on Schlafen 12 (SLFN12). SLFN12 is an intermediate Schlafen, it is expressed in humans but not in rodents, and is localized to the cytoplasm. SLFN12 …


Transcriptomic Analysis Of Young Regenerating Magnocellular Neurons (Mcns) Vs Mature Non- Regenerating Mcns, Malak Alzidaneen Jan 2021

Transcriptomic Analysis Of Young Regenerating Magnocellular Neurons (Mcns) Vs Mature Non- Regenerating Mcns, Malak Alzidaneen

Theses and Dissertations

Mature mammalian CNS neurons do not regenerate or recover following injuries. Different transcription factors have been linked to axonal growth and survival, and regulation changes in these transcription factors will affect the expression levels of genes involved in axonal regeneration. A robust collateral sprouting response within the distant terminal field of magnocellular neurons, the neurohypophysis, arising from the contralateral non-injured supraoptic neurons have been shown in response to unilateral denervation of MCNs tracts. This response peaked at age 35 days then it was followed by a complete loss of the regenerative capacity between 35 days and 125 days of age. …


Phylogeny And Systematics Of The Superfamily Diplostomoidea Poirier, 1886 (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda), Tyler Joseph Achatz Jan 2021

Phylogeny And Systematics Of The Superfamily Diplostomoidea Poirier, 1886 (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda), Tyler Joseph Achatz

Theses and Dissertations

The Diplostomoidea is a large superfamily of digeneans which possess a unique holdfast organ. Members of the superfamily are distributed worldwide and are known to parasitize a wide variety of animals, both invertebrates and vertebrates. In some cases, diplostomoideans have been associated with diseases such as ocular diplostomiasis and ‘black spot’ disease in fishes. The taxonomic and systematic history of diplostomoideans is complex and includes numerous revisions based on morphology and host associations. Prior to this study, the Diplostomoidea included 6 families and 16 subfamilies. Recent molecular phylogenetic analyses have revealed the Diplostomidae and the Strigeidae to be non-monophyletic and …


Using Machine Learning On Diverse Datasets To Predict Drug-Induced Liver Injury, Temidayo Adeluwa Jan 2021

Using Machine Learning On Diverse Datasets To Predict Drug-Induced Liver Injury, Temidayo Adeluwa

Theses and Dissertations

A major challenge in drug development is safety and toxicity concerns due to drug sideeffects. One such side effect, drug-induced liver injury (DILI), is considered a primary factor in regulatory clearance. To develop prediction models of DILI, the Critical Assessment of Massive Data Analysis (CAMDA) 2020 CMap Drug Safety Challenge goal was established with an ultimate goal to develop prediction models based on gene perturbation of six preselected cell-lines (CMap L1000), extended structural information (MOLD2), toxicity data (TOX21), and FDA reporting of adverse events (FAERS). Four types of DILI classes were targeted, including two clinically relevant scores and two control …


In Search Of A Stimulating Visual Dance Art Medium: Overlapping Realities In Live And Screen Dance, Yael Levitin Saban Dec 2020

In Search Of A Stimulating Visual Dance Art Medium: Overlapping Realities In Live And Screen Dance, Yael Levitin Saban

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis paper captures research into historical examples of artistic performance pioneers who integrated multiple layers of imagery into complex dialogue and describes how this research inspired and influenced the creation of an original 17-minute video work, “Overlay.”. My interest throughout my MFA Thesis Project has been to understand the effect of fusing or layering multiple movement-based art forms, the application and integration of modern technology to established traditional stage performance, and the creation of engaging new art form.


Exploring Behavioral Flexibility, Problem-Solving, And Innovation In Captive Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus), Amanda Puitiza Dec 2020

Exploring Behavioral Flexibility, Problem-Solving, And Innovation In Captive Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus), Amanda Puitiza

Theses and Dissertations

Asian elephants encounter and adapt to changing environments by problem-solving and innovating. In this study, we assessed behavioral measures, such as persistence and motivation, to determine potential predictors of problem-solving success. This is the first examination of problem-solving in elephants with a multi-solution puzzle box.


Are Giant Pandas (Ailuropoda Melanoleuca) Averse To Inequity?, Miranda R. Trapani Dec 2020

Are Giant Pandas (Ailuropoda Melanoleuca) Averse To Inequity?, Miranda R. Trapani

Theses and Dissertations

Inequity aversion, a negative response to situations of unequal reward distribution, is a cognitive trait usually seen in social species. This capacity is thought to regulate cooperative relationships in intelligent, cognitively flexible animals. Giant pandas are a unique case in that wild populations are characterized as nonsocial, however captive populations are socially housed until sexual maturity. This allows for the study of a nonsocial species in a social context and thus the assessment of socio-cognitive flexibility across evolutionarily distant taxa. Here, we assessed whether the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) displays inequity aversion by testing ten juveniles living at …


Using Day And Night Camera Trap Videos To Identify Wild Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus) In The Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary, Kanchanaburi, Thailand, Sasha Montero Dec 2020

Using Day And Night Camera Trap Videos To Identify Wild Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus) In The Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary, Kanchanaburi, Thailand, Sasha Montero

Theses and Dissertations

Observation and regular monitoring of wild populations is critical for the conservation of endangered species like the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). This study used 24 morphological characteristics to identify Asian elephants from camera trap videos collected in the Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand between February 2019 and January 2020.


Variation In Personality Among Semi-Wild Myanmar Timber Elephants, Sateesh Venkatesh Dec 2020

Variation In Personality Among Semi-Wild Myanmar Timber Elephants, Sateesh Venkatesh

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines two personality traits: exploration and neophobia, which could influence human-elephant conflicts. Thirty-one semi-wild elephants were tested over two trials using a custom novel puzzle tube containing three tasks and three rewards. Our studies show that elephants do vary significantly between individuals in both exploration and neophobia.


Behavioral Differences Among Varyingly-Disturbed Populations Of Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus Giganteus) In New South Wales, Australia, Francesca A. Iacobucci Dec 2020

Behavioral Differences Among Varyingly-Disturbed Populations Of Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus Giganteus) In New South Wales, Australia, Francesca A. Iacobucci

Theses and Dissertations

Despite their iconic status, kangaroo spp. are often treated as pests in Australia due to perceived abundance and extensive grazing behaviors. With growing suburbanization, animals such as kangaroo spp., are forced to inhabit human-dominated areas. Little research has been done examining how different aspects of human-induced disturbance can varyingly affect the behavior of wild animals. Specifically, this study examined how varyingly-disturbed areas affect behaviors such as vigilance, foraging, joey emergence during the in/out stage of pouch emergence, and play in three eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) populations. Results suggest that acute environmental disturbances (e.g., dogs barking or …


Tools For Thought: Artifacts From The History Of Comparative Psychology, Dylan Kerr Dec 2020

Tools For Thought: Artifacts From The History Of Comparative Psychology, Dylan Kerr

Theses and Dissertations

This project explores the history of comparative psychology through close readings of apparatuses used in seminal experiments on animal behavior, drawing connections between seemingly disparate areas of human culture—including art, architecture, mythology, and economics—and the development of the science, with a particular focus on behaviorist and cognitive approaches.


Efficient End-To-End Autonomous Driving, Hesham Eraqi Dec 2020

Efficient End-To-End Autonomous Driving, Hesham Eraqi

Theses and Dissertations

Steering a car through traffic is a complex task that is difficult to cast into algorithms. Therefore, researchers turn to train artificial neural networks from front-facing camera data stream along with the associated steering angles. Nevertheless, most existing solutions consider only the visual camera frames as input, thus ignoring the temporal relationship between frames. In this work, we propose a Convolution Long Short-Term Memory Recurrent Neural Network (C-LSTM), which is end-to-end trainable, to learn both visual and dynamic temporal dependencies of driving. Additionally, We introduce posing the steering angle regression problem as classification while imposing a spatial relationship between the …


Morphological Assessment And Mitochondrial Dna Analysis Of Roadside-Skippers (Genus Amblyscirtes, Family Hesperiidae) Occurring In Arkansas, Sachith Srikanth Dec 2020

Morphological Assessment And Mitochondrial Dna Analysis Of Roadside-Skippers (Genus Amblyscirtes, Family Hesperiidae) Occurring In Arkansas, Sachith Srikanth

Theses and Dissertations

Amblyscirtes linda is a candidate for federal listing under the Endangered Species Act (1973). The present study, funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, aims to gather data that will enable a decision regarding federal listing to be made. It is understood that the conservation status of Amblyscirtes linda cannot be accurately assessed without examining other congeneric species with which it cooccurs and can be easily confused. This confusion is due to morphological characteristics being very similar in the genus. We therefore studied morphological and molecular means of identification, as well as …


Evidence Of Incipient Song Divergence In A Hawaiian Population Of Warbling White-Eyes, Jesse D. Robinson Dec 2020

Evidence Of Incipient Song Divergence In A Hawaiian Population Of Warbling White-Eyes, Jesse D. Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Natural or human-mediated founder events can lead to changes in avian communication signals, potentially impacting the trajectory of evolution. Warbling white-eye (Zosterops japonicus) was introduced from Japan to the Hawaiian Islands between 1929 – ca. 1937. I recorded primary songs in Hawai‘i (O‘ahu, Big Island) and collected archival recordings, then conducted a comparative analysis between introduced and native song types which revealed significant differences in the O‘ahu and Big Island populations. To test for behavioral responses that corresponded to these differences, I presented conspecific playback stimuli (intra-island, inter-island, native) to individuals in Hawai‘i (O‘ahu, Big Island). Big Island individuals increased …


Nanoscale Material Interaction With Multicellular 3d Cancer Culture, Emilie Darrigues Dec 2020

Nanoscale Material Interaction With Multicellular 3d Cancer Culture, Emilie Darrigues

Theses and Dissertations

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common form of pancreatic cancer, it is difficult to diagnose, often recurs, has high resistance to chemotherapies, and can be marked by advanced metastatic stages. There is an urgent need to fill the knowledge on nanoparticle penetration, diffusion, and cellular interaction in the context of adaptive PDAC tumor microenvironment to allow the development of new imaging and therapeutic supports. Traditionally, cancer-treating nanoparticles have been engineered and tested on 2D cell cultures, but several studies indicate that this in vitro model does not mimic tumor features closely enough. In contrast, 3D culture models offer …


Identification Of Genes That Determine Fitness, Virulence, And Disease Outcomes In Mastitis Associated Eschericia Coli, Michael Andrew Olson Dec 2020

Identification Of Genes That Determine Fitness, Virulence, And Disease Outcomes In Mastitis Associated Eschericia Coli, Michael Andrew Olson

Theses and Dissertations

Escherichia coli is an incredibly diverse group of bacteria that consist of both commensal and pathogenic strains that cause disease in a wide variety of tissues in many different animals. The current dogma, based on years of extensive molecular and genetic studies, is that individual strains have adapted to specific environments through acquisition of specific genes or come from lineages that are particularly suited to a unique tissue or host. However, mastitis-associated E. coli (MAEC) have thus far resisted such descriptions. The fitness and virulence factors of MAEC are poorly understood and molecular tools are rarely applied. This dissertation reports …


Exploring Dialogue Journals As A Context For Connecting With And Supporting The Emotional Lives Of Fourth Graders, Samantha Simone Johnson Dec 2020

Exploring Dialogue Journals As A Context For Connecting With And Supporting The Emotional Lives Of Fourth Graders, Samantha Simone Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

About 20 percent of school-aged children, 18 years and younger, struggle with mental health issues in America today. Mental health issues lead to greater rates of suicide, depression, loneliness, anxiety, and bullying that takes place in and out of schools. This exploratory multiple case study looks at how 10 fourth graders, five male and five female, use a weekly entry in a dialogue journal letter to their teacher to share their emotional lives. I explore how a dialogue journal can open up a space between students and teachers for emotional aspects of life and learning to be included in schools. …


Antimicrobial Peptide Development: From Massively Parallel Peptide Sequencing To Bioinformatic Motif Identification, Alexander K. Erikson Dec 2020

Antimicrobial Peptide Development: From Massively Parallel Peptide Sequencing To Bioinformatic Motif Identification, Alexander K. Erikson

Theses and Dissertations

The isolation, purification, and clinical deployment of antibiotics is one of the major drivers of decrease in morbidity and mortality from infectious bacteria in the 20th century. The rapid, ubiquitous deployment of antibiotics encouraged swift development and distribution of antibiotic resistance. New, novel techniques, technologies, and ultimately therapeutic antimicrobial compounds will be required to counter the rise of antibiotic resistant microbes. Historically, mimicking naturally occurring compounds has been the most fruitful method for discovering new antibiotics; unsurprisingly, many recent efforts have focused on expanding the cultivation and detection of previously unknown microbes and compounds, respectively. Other techniques explore developing compounds …


A Rapid Spectrophotometric Assay For Quantifying Seed Coat Saponins In Quinoa, Sydney Diver Szabo Dec 2020

A Rapid Spectrophotometric Assay For Quantifying Seed Coat Saponins In Quinoa, Sydney Diver Szabo

Theses and Dissertations

Background and objectives: The commonly used afrosimetric foam-height method for quantifying saponins in quinoa is rapid but imprecise. A rapid UV/Vis method, utilizing the Liebermann-Burchard (LB) color reaction, was compared to the foam method across a range of saponin levels in washed and unwashed seed. Findings: A 6 min UV/Vis method provided greater precision and accuracy than the afrosimetric method at the lower saponin levels found in washed quinoa. The afrosimetric method did not differentiate saponin levels below 0.6 mg/mL but allows for useful relative comparisons of saponin content in unwashed quinoa where the foam height is large. Conclusions: The …