Digital Commons Network^™

New Influences On Naming Patterns In Victorian Britain, Amy M. Hasfjord

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines a major shift in naming patterns that occurred in Victorian Britain, roughly between 1840 and 1900, though with roots dating back to the mid-18th century. Until approximately 1840, most new names in England that achieved wide popularity had their origins in royal and/or religious influence. The upper middle classes changed this pattern during the Victorian era by introducing a number of new names that came from popular print culture. These names are determined based on a study collecting 10,000 men's and 10,000 women's names from marriage announcements in the London Times. Many of these new names were …

Hillman College Is A Different World From Where You Come From: A Thematic Analysis Of Relationships In A Different World, Natilie Williams

Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the identity and relationships portrayed in the television series, A Different World. Although the popular series ended in 1993, this show continues to resonate with the African-American community. Specifically, Ron, D. Wayne, and Whitley are the primary characters of focus. Ron and D. Wayne maintain a brotherhood, while Whitley and D. Wayne maintain a romantic relationship. Both of these relationships include implicit expectations, illustrate varying levels of reciprocity, and provide identity-shaping communicative feedback.

An Investigation Into B Cells In Peripheral Blood And Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissues In The Red Eared Slider Turtle, Trachemys Scripta, Sarah Marie Marrochello

Theses and Dissertations

As in endotherms, immunity in ectotherms is vital to survival and contributes to the overall fitness of an organism. For reptilians, there are a number of environmental factors, such as temperature, season, and pathogen prevalence, which are known to influence both innate and adaptive immunity. Of particular interest, is the effect of these factors on B cells, a component of adaptive immunity. Reptilian B cells are reported to secrete antibodies, much like their mammalian counterparts, and undergo phagocytosis. The work reported here primarily focused on understanding the effect of environmental temperature, incubation temperature, and nesting season on B cells in …

Terrorism Preparedness: A Law Enforcement Perspective, Cayla Comens

Theses and Dissertations

Since September 11, 2001, the environments in which law enforcement agencies operate have been changing. Contingency theory hypothesizes that an organization adapts to their environment through organizational structure and contingencies in order to accomplish a state of fit or higher performance. Utilizing the contingency theory framework, the study looked to answer two research questions: (1) Do municipal and county police agencies believe they have the necessary resources and training to prevent and or respond to the next terrorist attack? (2) How does agency size, structure, funding, and perceived risk influence terrorism preparedness? A sample of 902 county and municipal law …

Unpacking Empowerment Discourse Within A Women's Reentry Organization, Amanda Nicole Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Through ethnographic research with a small organization, Jareth, that helps women transition from prison to the community, this work unpacks discourses of empowerment within reentry organizations. I argue that Jareth’s empowerment discourse works on a pragmatic level to help women become employed but it does not work well to completely meet the needs of women offenders because businesses do not want to employ former prisoners and because the general public thinks that prison can meet all of women's needs. I also argue that empowerment defines 'power' and dependence' in particular ways - through appropriate and inappropriate forms of power and …

On The Dynamics Of Boolean Gene Regulatory Networks With Stochasticity, Yuezhe Li

Theses and Dissertations

Genes are responsible for producing proteins that are essential to the construction of complex biological systems. The mechanisms by which this production is regulated have long been the center of wide spread research efforts. Deterministic Boolean gene regulatory models have been a particularly effective avenue of research in this field. However these models fall short of accounting for variations in the gene functionality due to the uncertain internal or external environmental conditions. One of the recent attempts to overcome this weakness is by (Murrugarra, 2012), in which a probabilistic component is introduced as the fixed activation/degradation propensities at the cellular …

Virginity And Intellectual Construction: The Function Of Virginity Within The Early English Novel, Jayna Morgan Leipart Guttilla

Theses and Dissertations

This project situates the state of virginity as both a narrative and mode of behavior within Samuel Richardson's novel Pamela. By challenging the supposition that feminine virginity in eighteenth-century novels is presented as both an intellectual and physical disability, this thesis allows for a reconsideration of how virginity functions in the early novel. I place virginity in three distinct and yet simultaneous modes of thinking that contributed to the conflicting and contradictory images of women that were available to purchase in print: virginity as moral intelligence and form of resistance; virginity as an intellectual disability, and the loss of virginity …

Î?- Lactam-Induced Changes In Cell Wall Composition And Autolytic Properties Of Daptomycin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, Michael Krzyskowski

Theses and Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen that is well known for its ability to develop resistance to antimicrobial therapies. Recent studies have identified a combination of β-lactam antibiotic and daptomycin (DAP) to be highly effective at killing single and multi-drug-resistant S. aureus. Of particular interest is this drug combinationâ??s efficiency with which it kills strains classified as DAP-resistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (DAP-R MRSA). The goals of the present study were two-fold: to provide a physiological profile of a DAP-R S. aureus strain undergoing beta-lactam treatment by observing changes in autolytic rate, susceptibility to lytic enzymes, levels of peptidoglycan O-acetylation, …

Effects Of Improv Comedy On College Students, Colin Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory qualitative study investigated the degree to which participation in college improv comedy affects student development. The study reviews the experiences of students from three different campuses who are involved in improv comedy. Grounded in theories from figured worlds, creativity, student development, memory, cognitive development, identity development, and imagination, this research draws on twelve semi-structured interviews, three group interviews, and three observations of performances. This study answers the following questions: How do college students make meaning of their experience within an improv comedy troupe in relation to academic, social skill, and identity development? What potential does improv comedy have …

Development And Application Of New Solid-State Models For Low-Energy Vibrations, Lattice Defects, Entropies Of Mixing, And Magnetic Properties, Jacob M. Schliesser

Theses and Dissertations

Low-temperature heat capacity data contain information on the physical properties of materials, and new models continue to be developed to aid in the analysis and interpretation of heat capacity data into physically meaningful properties. This work presents the development of two such models and their application to real material systems. Equations describing low-energy vibrational modes with a gap in the density of states (DOS) have been derived and tested on several material systems with known gaps in the DOS, and the origins of such gaps in the DOS are presented. Lattice vacancies have been shown to produce a two-level system …

Trace Element Inputs From Natural And Anthropogenic Sources In An Agricultural Watershed, Middle Provo River, Utah, Timothy Holman Goodsell

Theses and Dissertations

Water chemistry in rivers is impacted by a variety of natural and anthropogenic processes including agricultural runoff, urban runoff, storm runoff, groundwater inputs, and the built environment. In this study we used trace element concentrations (including As, B, Ce, Co, Cu, Li, Mn, Rb, Sb, Sr, Tl, V, and Zn) and continuous measurements of flow rates and specific conductance to investigate dynamic processes affecting water quality in a rapidly urbanizing agricultural area typical of the western U.S. The middle Provo River, located in northern Utah, USA, was selected as the study area because it is well instrumented with water quality …

Simulating Electric Charges And Electric Force In Android, Arlind Hajredinaj

Theses and Dissertations

Simulating physics phenomena is somewhat complicated, depending on what is to be simulated, the laws, the amount of space, the time. It all breaks down to the scale of the universe that we are going to simulate, we might want to draw objects, which means we need a screen that has pixels, a pixel size can be a meter, half a meter, millimeter or down to the smallest distance the Planck length which is 1.616199(97)×10⁻³⁵, we can simulate Newtonian laws, laws of Thermodynamics, theory of relativity, particles of light and such, the more physics we want to add …

Improving Cotton Agronomics With Diverse Genomic Technologies, Aaron Robert Sharp

Theses and Dissertations

Agronomic outcomes are the product of a plant's genotype and its environment. Genomic technologies allow farmers and researchers new avenues to explore the genetic component of agriculture. These technologies can also enhance understanding of environmental effects. With a growing world population, a wide variety of tools will be necessary to increase the agronomic productivity. Here I use massively parallel, deep sequencing of RNA (RNA-Seq) to measure changes in cotton gene expression levels in response to a change in the plant's surroundings caused by conservation tillage. Conservation tillage is an environmentally friendly, agricultural practice characterized by little or no inversion of …

Discovery Of Low-Molecular Weight Novel Serum Biomarkers For Diagnosing Preeclampsia And Alzheimer's Disease, Swati Anand

Theses and Dissertations

Preeclampsia (PE), a life threatening pregnancy-related disorder, is characterized mainly by new onset of hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks of gestation. Currently, PE cannot be predicted prior to onset of symptoms and there is no cure for the disease. There is a clear value in having biomarkers able, early in a pregnancy, to identify women at risk for PE so that proper treatment therapies could be developed. Although a number of serum candidate markers have been proposed to be altered in PE patients, their use is limited due to poor sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, there is ongoing need for …

Trio-Eligible Students And Study Abroad: Influential Factors, Barriers, And Benefits, Michael R. Minton

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the fact that only 1.8% of U.S. undergraduate students choose to participate in a study abroad program, the popularity of study abroad has grown significantly in recent years (Open Doors, 2013). Participation in study abroad programs has grown by over 97% since 2000, and has increased every year since 2008-09 (Open Doors, 2013). Many institutions recognize the importance of this educational activity in preparing their students to be productive citizens in an ever-growing global economy and society.

While the number of U.S. undergraduate students participating in study abroad has continued to increase overall, it is important to note that …

The Role Of Hypoxia On Pyruvate Kinase M2, Mammalian Target Of Rapamycin, Mitochondrial Function, And Cell Invasion In The Trophoblast, Rebecca Lutz Kimball

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will be organized into two chapters discussing the role of hypoxia in the human placenta. The goal of this thesis is to characterize pyruvate kinase M2, mammalian target of rapamycin, mitochondrial function, and cell invasion in hypoxic conditions in the trophoblast. Understanding the mechanisms of placental metabolism can lead to further treatments for placental diseases. Chapter one covers the background of intrauterine growth restriction, hypoxia, placental metabolism, and pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2). Little is currently understood about the role of the mitochondria in placental diseases. Expression of PKM2, trophoblast cell invasion, and mitochondrial function is shown to be …

The Gratification Niches Of Traditional And Digital Radio, Don G. Shelline

Theses and Dissertations

We live in an age where science fiction is quickly becoming science fact. Dick Tracy's 2-way wrist TVs are Apple Watches. Automated smart homes are plentiful. Cars are now able to drive themselves. And in those cars, riders no longer need to depend on a deejay to choose their music for them; these listeners build their own radio stations, on the spot, out of any music and conversation they want to hear, all at the touch of a button that is fully connected to Wi-Fi, the internet, and unlimited cell data plans.This research will examine digital radio's impact upon traditional …

In Vitro Molecular Modification Of Human Cultured And Primary Cells Using Lance Array Nanoinjection, John W. Sessions

Theses and Dissertations

Fundamentally altering cellular function at a genetic level is a major area of interest in the biologic sciences and the medical community. By engineering transfectable constructs that can be inserted to dysfunctional cellular systems, scientists can mitigate aberrant genetic behavior to produce proper molecular function. While viral vectors have been a mainstay in the past, there are many limitations, particularly related to safety, that have changed the focus of genome editing to incorporate alternative methods for gene delivery. Lance Array Nanoinjection (LAN), a second-generation microfabricated transfection biotechnology, is one of these alternative technologies. LAN works by utilizing both simultaneous electrostatic …

A Neuroimaging Investigation Of The Effects Of Age And Sleep On Pattern Separation, Christopher Robert Doxey

Theses and Dissertations

Effective memory representations must be specific to prevent interference between episodes that may overlap in terms of place, time, or items present. Pattern separation, a computational process performed by the hippocampus overcomes this interference by establishing non-overlapping memory representations. This project explores pattern separation and how it is impacted by age and sleep. Experiment 1. Structures of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) are known to be involved in declarative memory processes. However, little is known about how age-related changes in MTL structures, white matter integrity, and functional connectivity affect pattern separation processes in the MTL. In the present study, we …

The Effect Of Whole Body Vibration On Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage And Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness, Ryan Darin Magoffin

Theses and Dissertations

Current scientific evidence suggests that when whole body vibration (WBV) is used as a warm-up prior to performing eccentric exercise, delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is mitigated and strength loss recovers faster. These benefits were observed primarily in nonresistance-trained individuals. The aim of this study was to determine if WBV could mitigate soreness and expedite strength recovery for resistance-trained individuals when used as a warm-up prior to eccentric exercise. Thirty resistance-trained males completed 300 maximal eccentric contractions of the quadriceps after warming up with (WBV) or without (CON) WBV. Both CON and WBV experienced significant isometric (27.8% and 30.5%, respectively) and …

Extracellular Matrix From Whole Porcine Heart Decellularization For Cardiac Tissue Engineering, Nima Momtahan

Theses and Dissertations

Heart failure is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Every year in the United States, more than 800,000 people are diagnosed with heart failure and more than 375,000 people die from heart disease. Current therapies such as heart transplants and bioartificial hearts are helpful, but not optimal. Decellularization of porcine whole hearts followed by recellularization with patient-specific human cells may provide the ultimate solution for patients with heart failure. Great progress has been made in the development of efficient processes for decellularization, and the design of automated bioreactors. In this study, the decellularization of porcine …

Rab8 Mediates Trpv4 Vesicle Trafficking To The Plasma Membrane In Hgf-Stimulated Mdck Cells, Hillary Jean Haws

Theses and Dissertations

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process whereby epithelial cells, which act collectively through robust cell–cell interactions, take on mesenchymal characteristics, breaking cell–cell junctions to become solitary, invasive and motile. Our previous results show that a transient increase in calcium influxes through TRP channels at the plasma membrane is required for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)– stimulated EMT. Since this transient increase requires an intact microtubule cytoskeleton, we propose that HGF stimulation results in the mobilization of calcium channels to the plasma membrane from an intracellular compartment via microtubule–dependent vesicle trafficking. Through immunofluorescence, we show that prior to HGF treatment, …

Phylogenetic Relationships Of Cottids (Pisces: Cottidae) In Upper Snake River Basin Of Western North America, Sun Yeong Oh

Theses and Dissertations

Freshwater sculpins (Cottus) are common throughout temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Their broad distribution in the Western North America makes them a good model for understanding phylogeographic relationships among western fishes. Within much of the interior west three lineages, C. bairdii, C. confusus, and the C. beldingii complex, are most prevalent. The distribution of these three overlap in the Snake River Basin. All occur below Shoshone Falls on the Snake River. However, only two currently reside in the Upper Snake River above the falls. An exception are the Lost River streams of central Idaho. While …

Manfred, Don Juan, And The Romantic Tragedy Of The Subject, Trenton Robert Leinenbach

Theses and Dissertations

While the Romantic lyric has long been understood as an exploration of human subjectivity, the era's dramatic works have been viewed as more oriented toward objective or mimetic representation. As such, scholarship on Romantic subjectivity from Harold Bloom to Andrea Henderson has bypassed dramatic and quasi-dramatic explorations of subjectivity. These explorations, however, add to the conversation about subjectivity in powerful ways by addressing the paradoxes of mimetically representing subjectivity. These difficulties spring from a question that surrounds mimetically represented subjectivity: how can a supposedly objective medium portray experience that is by definition non-objective, purely interior, and therefore incommunicable? This paradox …

Forward Chemical Genetics Drug Screen Yields Novel Proteases And Proteolytic Inhibitors Of Hgf–Induced Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition, Jeffrey Thomas Schuler

Theses and Dissertations

Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF)–induced Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is a complex cellular pathway that causes epithelial cell scattering by breaking cell–cell contacts, eliminating apical–basal polarity, and replacing epithelial markers and characteristics with mesenchymal markers. Early EMT events include a brief period of cell spreading, followed by cell compaction and cell–cell contact breaks. A forward chemical genetics drug screen of 50,000 unique compounds measuring HGF–induced cell scattering identified 26 novel EMT inhibitors, including 2 proteolytic inhibitors. Here, we show that B5500–4, one of the EMT inhibitors from the screen, blocks HGF–induced EMT by a predicted blocking of the protease furin, in addition …

Immunization Status Of Nicu Graduates At A Tertiary Care Children's Hospital, Leslie Jane Huggins

Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of this study were to determine the current rates of immunization and identify variables associated with immunizations of NICU graduates who were 60 days of age or older at time of discharge. This is a descriptive pilot study utilizing retrospective paper chart review. The relationships between immunization status and study variables were examined using logistic regression. Of 43 infants discharged at least 60 days of age or older from the NICU, 74.4% were up to date for immunizations in accordance with AAP recommendations. Additional variables were not significant. Immunization needs to be a priority in order to give …

Resilience And Internalizing Symptoms Among Adolescent Girls In Residential Treatment: An Evaluation Of Strong Teens, Luke Andrew Marvin

Theses and Dissertations

Strong Teens is an evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum designed to target internalizing disorders by promoting emotional resilience and social competence. In this study, Strong Teens was implemented among 36 adolescent girls during group therapy in a residential treatment center (RTC). A non-equivalent, quasi-experimental wait-list control group design was used. The curriculum was evaluated by tracking the girls' social and emotional knowledge, internalizing symptoms, and resilience from the perspectives of the girls, group therapists, and a supervisor who was blind to the study. Although the results indicated that exposure to Strong Teens was not effective in increasing the …

Evaluating The Effects Of Strong Teens On High School Student Levels Of Internalizing Symptoms And Resilience, Austin J. Millet

Theses and Dissertations

Many adults suffering from mental health problems often report that the onset of these concerns began in adolescence, highlighting the importance of identifying and treating mental health concerns from an early age. In high schools, some students are identified as having externalizing or internalizing disorders. The majority of these students, especially those with internalizing symptoms, go untreated. One potential reason may be that limited school resources are used to correct behavior problems, leaving those with internalizing disorders to silently suffer, which often exacerbates the issues. Recent research suggests many individuals have high levels of resilience which can be taught, and …

Aminoacyl-Trna Synthetase Production For Unnatural Amino Acid Incorporation And Preservation Of Linear Expression Templates In Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Reactions, Andrew Broadbent

Theses and Dissertations

Proteins—polymers of amino acids—are a major class of biomolecules whose myriad functions facilitate many crucial biological processes. Accordingly, human control over these biological processes depends upon the ability to study, produce, and modify proteins. One innovative tool for accomplishing these aims is cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS). This technique, rather than using living cells to make protein, simply extracts the cells' natural protein-making machinery and then uses it to produce protein in vitro. Because living cells are no longer involved, scientists can freely adapt the protein production environment in ways not otherwise possible. However, improved versatility and yield of CFPS protein …

Semantic And Syntactic Processing In A Patient With Left Temporal Lobe Damage Secondary To Traumatic Brain Injury: An Fmri Study, Caitlin Moizer

Theses and Dissertations

The ability of the brain to change and form new neuropathways after brain injury is remarkable. The current study investigates the brains ability to form new pathways for language processing following traumatic brain injury (TBI), specifically a left temporal lobectomy. Two subjects participated in this study; one participant with TBI and one age-matched control. Sentence stimuli consisted of four types: semantically correct, semantically incorrect, syntactically correct, and syntactically incorrect. Participants underwent a fMRI scan while the auditory stimuli were presented in four blocks. Participants were asked to record if the sentence was correct or incorrect by pressing the corresponding button. …