Digital Commons Network^™

Postcession, Evan D. Pomerantz

Theses and Dissertations

This is a series of daily writings. Each day consists of a new topic and is closed at the end of the day. The ideas presented are philosophical, humorous, rambling, lamentations, incantations, doubt-ridden, aesthetic pep talks which combine into an affective representation of my studio practice’s becoming. There will be little congruency, some stories, and a lot of parallels because that is who I am.

Investigation Into The Specification Of Nurf Recruitment To The Genome, Marissa Mack

Theses and Dissertations

The nucleosome remodeling factor (NURF) is a mutli-protein complex that plays a role in the regulation of gene expression through its ability to remodel nucleosomes. The largest subunit of this complex, Bptf (Bromodomain PHD Finger Transcription Factor) is important for many cellular processes as a transcriptional regulator and improper function results in disease or malignancy. To further understand the genome-wide recruitment of the NURF complex, the interaction partner for the N-terminal PHD finger domain of Bptf was investigated through pull down assays followed by mass spectrometry. It was determined that this domain does not recognize histones; instead it recognizes a …

The Object Inbetween, Lucy L. Derickson

Theses and Dissertations

My mission is to bring attention to the unusual, undefined, and fluid connections we have to objects through various avenues of experience. Things, objects, and devices have shaped our culture, environment, and personal philosophies. We live, grow, learn, and mourn with objects. We worship, sympathize, and relate to objects. But what I am most interested in is a human tendency to retreat to objects, allowing them to mediate experiences of friendship and intimacy between people.

During my graduate studies, I have been evaluating my personal and professional connections with others in order to understand how technology such as smart phones …

Development Of Novel Chimeric Epitope Based Diagnostic Antigens And Vaccines For Lyme Disease, Lee D. Oliver Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Lyme disease (LD) is the leading arthropod-borne disease in North America with 300-600,000 cases each year. There are currently no approved human LD vaccines. Outer surface protein C (OspC) has emerged as a leading vaccine candidate and an attractive diagnostic marker due to its antigenicity and expression early in infection. Several chimeric, epitope based OspC derived proteins were generated. The constructs were found to be highly immunogenic in mice and vaccination induced complement-dependent bactericidal antibodies. These results suggest that a broadly protective polyvalent OspC epitope based vaccine can be produced. Currently, LD diagnostic approaches are unreliable and unable to differentiate …

Polysaccharide-Based Shear Thinning Hydrogels For Three-Dimensional Cell Culture, Vasudha Surampudi

Theses and Dissertations

The recreation of the complicated tissue microenvironment is essential to reduce the gap between in vitro and in vivo research. Polysaccharide-based hydrogels form excellent scaffolds to allow for three-dimensional cell culture owing to the favorable properties such as capability to absorb large amount of water when immersed in biological fluids, ability to form “smart hydrogels” by being shear-thinning and thixotropic, and eliciting minimum immunological response from the host. In this study, the biodegradable shear-thinning polysaccharide, gellan-gum based hydrogel was investigated for the conditions and concentrations in which it can be applied for the adhesion, propagation and assembly of different mammalian …

Reconnect: Designing To Touch, Dana Seros Rohani

Theses and Dissertations

Our everyday lives are surrounded by gadgets and digital devices that help us perform our daily chores with ease and efficiency. However, these digital devices can also separate us from what we should do ourselves. Although children who are exposed to high levels of technology might become attuned to the latest and the best gadgets, they might not learn to use their physical abilities. Another implication of a child’s over dependence on technology is that parental interactions such as encouragement, tutoring and reinforcement are provided by gadgets rather than living, breathing parents. Research done by Padma Ravichandran and Brandel France …

A Measure Of Social Behavior In Team-Based, Multiplayer Online Games: The Sociality In Multiplayer Online Games Scale (Smog), Chelsea M. Hughes

Theses and Dissertations

Video games have become a new platform for social interaction. I review the sociality of video games and the relationship between virtual- and real-world behaviors. I review and address the pros and cons of methods of measuring social behavior. Finally, I present two studies drawn from internet populations. In Study 1 (N = 250), I develop a scale, The Sociality in Multiplayer Online Games Scale (SMOG), which measures the frequency of social gaming behaviors in team-based, multiplayer online games. I hypothesized these to align on dominance and affiliation dimensions of social interaction (Kiesler, 1982). In Study 2 (N …

Race And Mental Illness At A Virginia Hospital: A Case Study Of Central Lunatic Asylum For The Colored Insane, 1869-1885, Caitlin Doucette Foltz

Theses and Dissertations

In 1869 the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia passed legislation that established the first asylum in the United States to care exclusively for African-American patients. Then known as Central Lunatic Asylum for the Colored Insane and located in Richmond, Virginia, the asylum began to admit patients in 1870. This thesis explores three aspects of Central State Hospital's history during the nineteenth century: attitudes physicians held toward their patients, the involuntary commitment of patients, and life inside the asylum. Chapter One explores the nineteenth-century belief held by southern white physicians, including those at Central State Hospital, that freed people …

Individual Traits And Entrepreneurial Intentions: The Mediating Role Of Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy And Need For Cognition, Chao Miao

Theses and Dissertations

The field of entrepreneurship is rapidly advancing and matures as a discipline that receives substantial amount of attention. One popular area of research in the discipline of entrepreneurship is to investigate one’s intent to start a business, which is entrepreneurial intention. This is an important construct that warrants ongoing research because entrepreneurial intention is not only a great predictor of entrepreneurial behavior but also an important step in the process of becoming an entrepreneur. The present study, based on a sample of 321 subjects along with 264 observers, makes five contributions to the entrepreneurship literature. First, I examined the psychometric …

Fallen/Lifted, Hillary Waters Fayle

Theses and Dissertations

I use found botanical material such as leaves, seedpods, and branches to explore human connection to the physical world. By combining these organic objects with the rich traditions of needlecraft, I bind nature and the human touch. Both tender and ruthless, this intricate stitch work communicates the idea that our relationship with the natural world is both tenuously fragile and infinitely complex.

The way I think about and make art mirrors the way I think about my life and how I walk through the world. What I do is about elevating details. It is about noticing cycles and connections. It …

Structural Determinants Of Abuse-Related Neurochemical And Behavioral Effects Of Para-Substituted Methcathinone Analogs In Rats, Julie S. Bonano

Theses and Dissertations

Methcathinone (MCAT) is the β-ketone analog of methamphetamine, and like its amphetamine analog, MCAT functions as a monoamine releaser that selectively promotes the release of dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) over serotonin (5-HT). MCAT produces amphetamine-like psychostimulant effects and is classified as a Schedule I drug of abuse by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Recently, synthetic MCAT analogs have emerged as designer drugs of abuse in Europe and the United States and have been marketed under deceptively benign names like “bath salts” in an attempt to evade legal restriction. These dangerous, recently emergent and novel drugs of abuse …

Colloidal Synthesis And Optical Characterizations Of Semiconductor Nanocrystals From Nontoxic Elements, Minh Q. Ho

Theses and Dissertations

To date, the search efforts have shifted from the toxic II-VI, III-V and IV-VI semiconductors to more environmentally friendly materials. Among Group II-V semiconductors, Zn₃P₂ has shown to be a more benign option, similar to Group IV (Ge, Si) materials, for future applications in photovoltaics and optoelectronics. This work is dedicated to the development of wet-chemical synthetic routes of (1) Zn₃P₂ and (2) Group IV (Ge, Si, Si_1-xGe_x) nanocrystals with precise control over composition, crystal structure, size and dispersity by adjusting different reaction parameters such as temperature, time and solvent …

Cell Cycle Regulation Of Retinal Progenitors; A Role For The Nance-Horan Syndrome Protein In Retinogenesis, Paul J. Vorster

Theses and Dissertations

The Nance-Horan syndrome gene (NHS) plays a role in lens, eye and brain development. To date, the function of NHS remains unclear. Recent evidence showed that p53 isoform, Δ113p53, inhibits abnormal cell growth during organogenesis. We show that NHS is expressed in the retinas of Danio rerio and Xenopus tropicalis during key stages of retinogenesis, and that knockdown of the gene resulted in a small eye phenotype in both species. Initially, knockdown of nhsb in zebrafish had no visible defects at 24hpf. But examination of the retina at 48hpf, we see a marked difference in size compared to control embryos. …

A Comparison Of Obesity Interventions Using Energy Balance Models, Marcella Torres

Theses and Dissertations

An energy balance model of human metabolism developed by Hall et al. is extended to compare body composition outcomes among standard and proposed obesity interventions. Standard interventions include a drastic diet or a drastic diet with endurance training. Outcomes for these interventions are typically poor in clinical studies. Proposed interventions include a gradual diet and the addition of resistance training to preserve lean mass and metabolic rate. We see that resistance training, regardless of dietary strategy, achieves these goals. Finally, we observe that the optimal obesity intervention for continued maintenance of a healthy body composition following a diet includes a …

The Effects Of Nicotine Sequestration On The Dynamics Of Hyperparasitism In A Stage-Structured Model Of Manduca Sexta And Its Related Parasitoid Wasps, Mark P. Zimmerman

Theses and Dissertations

Two proposed models will be used to help answer a long observed question in the dynamics of \textit{Manduca sexta} and its related parasitoid wasps-Why is there a large difference in diversity in hyperparasitoid species between tobacco and other related plants such as tomato? Two stage structured differential equation models are presented. The first is a single patch model to study the changes in dynamics that occur between hosts, parasitoids, and hyperparasitoids as the amount of nicotine in the plant increases. The second is a two patch model that allows hyperparasitoids to choose between patches that are nicotine negative (i.e. tomato …

Developing A Chronic Pain Vocabulary: Communication Preferences Among Individuals With Chronic Pain, Karin L. Becker

Theses and Dissertations

In order to be acknowledged, chronic pain must be voiced yet disclosing of chronic pain is fraught with social and professional repercussions. Moreover, there is a perceived disinterest in hearing about, and a stigma associated with the experience of chronic pain. This research explores the therapeutic value of communicating about pain. Nineteen individuals with chronic pain participated in a six-week online writing workshop to describe the way chronic pain impacts daily activities. These qualitative responses were analyzed using discourse analysis and four interpretive repertoires emerged which convey the multi-faceted impacts of living with chronic pain. These findings informed the creation …

Phylogenetic Analysis Of Mitochondrial Genomes Of Filarial Nematodes In The Subfamily Waltonellinae, Sarina Marie Bauer

Theses and Dissertations

The family Onchocercidae is a group of parasitic vector born nematodes that are split up into eight subfamilies. Although the subfamilies containing species that parasitize humans and livestock (e.g., Onchocercinae) have been well-studied, there is a considerable lack of information for the lesser studied subfamilies in Onchocercidae (e.g. Waltonellinae). This uncertainty leaves some doubt as to the phylogenetic and evolutionary relationships among the different taxonomic groupings of filarioid nematodes.

I worked with two species of the subfamily Waltonellinae, Foleyellides n. sp. and F. flexicauda. The primers used in this study for polymerase chain reactions (PCR) and DNA sequencing reactions were …

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Wing Color Pattern Development In Vanessa Cardui And Evolution Of The Polycomb Repressive Complex 2, Heidi Connahs

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I present four papers. Three explore different aspects of wing color pattern development in the painted lady butterfly, Vanessa cardui; while the fourth examines the evolution of an epigenetic silencer complex across invertebrate animals. In the first paper, I used transcriptomics to identify patterning genes from the Drosophila wing gene regulatory network (GRN) in larval and pupal wings of V. cardui and to examine how temporal expression dynamics of this gene network correspond to expression of ommochrome and melanin pigment genes. This study identified key developmental periods of gene upregulation and highlights the temporal separation between peak …

Removal Of Blocking Artifacts From Jpeg-Compressed Images Using An Adaptive Filtering Algorithm, Riddhiman Goswami

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this research was to develop an algorithm that will produce a considerable improvement in the quality of JPEG images, by removing blocking and ringing artifacts, irrespective of the level of compression present in the image. We review multiple published related works, and finally present a computationally efficient algorithm for reducing the blocky and Gibbs oscillation artifacts commonly present in JPEG compressed images. The algorithm alpha-blends a smoothed version of the image with the original image; however, the blending is controlled by a limit factor that considers the amount of compression present and any local edge information derived …

Parasites Within Parasites: Transmission And Evolution Of Neorickettsia In Digeneans, Stephen Edward Greiman

Theses and Dissertations

Digeneans are endoparasitic flatworms with complex life cycles that involve two or more different animals as definitive and intermediate hosts. Some digenean species harbor bacterial endosymbionts belonging to the genus Neorickettsia (Order: Rickettsiales, Family: Anaplasmataceae). Neorickettsia occur in all life cycle stages of digeneans and are maintained by vertical transmission. Far from benign however, Neorickettsia may also be transmitted horizontally by digenean parasites to their vertebrate definitive hosts. Once inside, Neorickettsia can infect macrophages and other cell types. For some vertebrate species (e.g. dogs, horses and humans), neorickettsial infections cause severe disease. With a few exceptions, studies of Neorickettsia have …

Student Perceptions Of Digital Resources And Digital Technology In A Flipped Classroom, Larry S. Guggisberg

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze student perceptions of flipped classroom instruction strategies, and student perceptions of their learning experience using digital resources and digital technology in a flipped classroom. Although perceptions are important, student achievement is a common tool used by policy-makers and judged by the general public as a means to evaluate and achieve continuous improvement in K-12 public education.

This case study may be a beneficial illustration for school administrator practitioners to consider prior to implementation or utilization of flipped classroom instructional strategies. The study provides a review of a high school that first implemented …

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Graduate Students' Experiences Of Plagiarism By Their Professors, Kimberly Dawn (Hanson) Becker

Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study expands the inquiry on perceived academic misconduct by investigating the experiences of graduate students who have reported a professor’s misattribution of their work. The participants include five graduate students who formally reported a violation of academic integrity because they believed a faculty member had misattributed their work. During the incident, the faculty and students both participated in an academic setting in one or more of the following types of relationships: committee chair–advisee, committee member–student, classroom professor–graduate student, and research supervisor–graduate assistant. Two central research questions frame this study: How do graduate students who have reported that their …

Using Computer Vision And Volunteer Computing To Analyze Avian Nesting Patterns And Reduce Scientist Workload, Kyle Andrew Goehner

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the use of feature detection and background subtraction algorithms to classify and detect events of interest within uncontrolled outdoor avian nesting video from the Wildlife@Home project. We tested feature detection using Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF) and a Support Vector Machine (SVM) along with four background subtraction algorithms — Mixture of Guassians (MOG), Running Gaussian Average (AccAvg), ViBe, and Pixel-Based Adaptive Segmentation (PBAS) — as methods to automatically detect and classify events from surveillance cameras. AccAvg and modified PBAS are shown to provide robust results and compensate for issues caused by cryptic coloration of the monitored species. …

Comparisons Of Muskrat (Ondatra Zibethicus) Trapping Efficiency And Incidental Take Of Non-Target Water Birds Using Covered And Uncovered Float Sets, Rodney Allen Gross Jr

Theses and Dissertations

Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) have been a highly sought after furbearer species in North Dakota because of recent pelt prices. In 2011, regulation changes allowed trappers to use float sets to trap muskrats during the spring season. The current regulations require float sets used during the spring trapping season to have a covering made of either wire mesh, wood, or plastic and must not have an opening exceeding 20.32 cm (8 in) to attempt to minimize the incidental take of non-target species. The primary goals of this project were to determine if muskrat float set covers are effective in eliminating incidental …

Ceres – Vis-Ir Surface Composition Analysis: A Review In Advance Of The Dawn Mission, Daniela Henckel

Theses and Dissertations

Ceres has been heavily investigated during the last years prior to the DAWN mission. Although it is the largest object in the Main Asteroid Belt, its properties, especially the surface composition, are not well understood. Studies of Ceres surface composition and texture are of particular importance to generally analyze the interior and evolution of Solar System objects as well as the surface processes that are/were active on those bodies. VIS-IR spectroscopy is an effective method to detect characteristic absorption bands in the spectra of surface materials which can be related to the surface composition of planets and asteroids.

The primary …

Climate Driven Hillslope Degradation Of Mono Basin Moraine, Eastern Sierra Nevada, California, Usa, Risa Madoff

Theses and Dissertations

Regolith transport within the uppermost 30-50 cm of Earth's surface is responsive to shifts in climate. Rates of surface change affect accumulation rates of sediment and nutrients, thereby affecting ecology, surface stability, and the ability to date landform surfaces. However, little is known about the quantitative effects past climates have had on the long term evolution of the landscape. A space-for-time substitution method was used to study this knowledge gap. Known degradation rates from widely varying climates were used to generate a transfer function where published paleo-temperature records from the Death Valley sediment core (DV93-1) were applied to derive paleo-degradation …

Does Sleep Affect Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (Doms) In Olympic Hockey Players?, Monique Edith Lamoureux

Theses and Dissertations

A quantitative study was conducted on the 2014 USA Women’s Olympic Hockey Team. Data was collected from the participants asking for the hours of sleep they got the previous night and how sore they were from the training on the previous day. These numbers were then analyzed to see if athletes who got less sleep reported higher soreness ratings. Results showed that two days in Training Cycle 1 had two significant p-values that coincided with the two strongest negative correlations. Training Cycle 3 had one significant p-value trending in the opposite direction of the proposed hypothesis. The hours of sleep …

College Students Who Abstain From Alcohol: Those Who Choose Not To Use, Sandra Jean Luck

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the motivations and behaviors of North

Dakota college students who have chosen to abstain from alcohol. This research contributes to the alcohol abuse prevention field by suggesting a framework to develop programming and recommendations were provided to develop prevention messages to increase the number of student abstainers on college campuses.

The Motivations of Abstaining from Alcohol Questionnaire (MAAQ) (Stritzke 2001) informed scripted questions asked of four focus groups conducted at the

University of North Dakota. The students who participated in the focus groups shared their experiences of choosing not to use alcohol …

Radiation Shielding Approaches For Planetary Surface Exploration: A Mars Case Study For Und Concepts, Arturo Ortiz

Theses and Dissertations

Surface stays on Mars may expose astronauts to high radiation doses from solar flares and galactic cosmic radiation (GCR). We estimated shielding required for a surface habitat, and assessed environments inside a planetary rover and space suit, under historically severe solar flare and GCR conditions, using the HZETRN radiation computer code. A 1m layer of Mars regolith can protect the habitat up to 30 km surface elevation. Polyethylene at 5, 10, and 15 g/cm2 can protect up to 0, 10, and 20 km, respectively. The rover protects from acute exposure up to -0.7 km while a space suit protects up …

30 Day Lunar/Martian Planetary Habitation Analog: Subjective Crew Analysis Of Behavioral Health, Travis Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Long duration spaceflight poses risks to astronauts from stressors including challenging living environments, rigorous workloads, physical and mental fatigue, interpersonal conflict, mission uncertainty, emergencies, isolation and confinement. Analog space exploration simulations on Earth provide researchers with controlled environments to train and study human spaceflight operations. The findings of this study provided data on self-assessed metrics from an analog crew (N=3) who independently completed subjective reports of sleep quality, stress, anxiety, fatigue, mental exertion, and also provided objectively assessed sleep quality data by biometric watches. The daily mean reports from subjects were compared across time in order to ascertain possible quarterly …