Digital Commons Network^™

Mutant P53 Regulation Of Cxc-Chemokine Expression In Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Brittany Field

Theses and Dissertations

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the 6th most common type of cancer in the western hemisphere with a five-year survival rate of only 50% for patients with a localized tumor, which decreases significantly to as low as 5% for those patients with tumors that have metastasized to distant sites of the body. It has been found that both mutant p53 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathways function to increase the expression of CXCL5, which has been identified as a key mediator in the process of tumor metastasis. Previous data from our lab suggested that the …

A Comparison Study On Teacher-Centered And Inquiry-Based Instruction In Science Education Of Middle School Students With Learning Disabilities: What Is Effective?, Jessica Yorke-Servis

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of the study are to examine the effects of inquiry-based and teacher-centered instruction methods when teaching science for middle school students with learning disabilities. These two instructional methods were provided to 81 students in two middle schools located in southern New Jersey. Of those, 30 students with learning disabilities, 15 in each school participated in the study. Both groups were given a pre and post test prior to and after the three weeks of science instruction to evaluate student performance. In addition, a student and teacher survey was provided to examine their satisfaction. The results show that students …

Force Optimization And Flow Field Characterization From A Flapping Wing Mechanism, Nathaniel Stephen Naegle

Theses and Dissertations

Flapping flight shows promise for micro air vehicle design because flapping wings provide superior aerodynamic performance than that of fixed wings and rotors at low Reynolds numbers. In these flight regimes, unsteady effects become increasingly important. This thesis explores some of the unsteady effects that provide additional lift to flapping wings through an experiment-based optimization of the kinematics of a flapping wing mechanism in a water tunnel. The mechanism wings and flow environment were scaled to simulate the flight of the hawkmoth (Manduca sexta) at hovering or near-hovering speeds. The optimization was repeated using rigid and flexible wings …

On The Genetic And Environmental Associations Between Body Composition, Depression Symptoms And Smoking Behavior., Roseann Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is a serious public health crisis and recent estimates of its incidence are the highest in United States history, with 35% and 17% of American adults and children affected, respectively. The clinical definition of adult obesity is operationalized as a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 kg/m2. Although the prevalence of common obesity has increased dramatically over the past 30 years–largely thought to be due to changes in the environment, such as high calorie diets and sedentary lifestyles—twin and family studies have shown consistently that relative body weight is under considerable genetic influence in both children and adults, …

Demographic And Genetic Consequences Of Small Population Size In Remnant Populations Of Arabis Georgiana Harper (Georgia Rockcress), Alicia M. Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis is to provide a greater scientific understanding of the demographic and genetic consequences of small population size in remnant populations of Arabis georgiana Harper (Georgia Rockcress). Specifically, 1 ) traits associated with phenological progression, fitness and reproductive success were compared between naturally occurring "native" plants and plants grown ex situ and subsequently restored to one of the largest remaining populations of A. georgiana, and 2) a preliminary analysis of population genetic structure in remnant populations across the species' range was performed. In addition to updating census information on remnant populations of A. georgiana, chapter one …

Examining Alcohol Dependence And Its Correlates From A Genetically Informative Perspective, Laura Hack

Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol dependence (AD) is a serious and common public health problem that contributes to great societal, medical, and legal costs. It has taken work from multiple disciplines, including developmental psychology, genetic epidemiology, and molecular genetics, to achieve our current understanding of environmental and genetic risk factors for AD as well as its variable developmental trajectories. Nevertheless, there is still much to be learned in order to improve treatment outcomes. One approach to augmenting our understanding of this disorder is through genetically informative study designs that either examine risk in aggregate or assess specific susceptibility variants. In this dissertation, we utilize …

The Impact Of Ambiguous Versus Blatant Race Related Stress On Ego Depletion In African American Adults, Benita Belvet

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of the current study was to examine variations in the impact of ambiguous versus blatant race related stressors on ego depletion in a sample of African American adults. Blatant race related stress was compared with ambiguous race related stress in regards to the relative impact on the constructs of ego depletion and perseverative cognition. Perseverative cognition was also examined as a potential mediating variable in the relationship between race related stress and ego depletion. Additionally, attributional ambiguity was hypothesized to moderate the effect of race related stress on perseverative cognition. The study implemented an experimental design, and assessed …

Speaking Of Rivers: Demystifying Foreign-Born Blacks Through A Secondary Esl Context, C. D. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Linguistic imperialism and societal assumptions can become dominant issues that lessen the significance of the identity, language, culture, and communication of minorities in English as a second language (ESL) settings, which may hinder the possibilities of acceptance and success (Amin, 1997; Ibrahim, 1999; Morgan, 1997; Ogbu, 1992a). Students from Africa and West Indies, foreign-born Blacks, represent English language learners (ELLs) who have distinct cultural and linguistic mores that often go unnoticed. Foreign-born Blacks possess uncommon mother tongues and cultural behaviors that present struggles with salient entrenched racialization in ESL because the historical aspects of English are associated with Whiteness, dominance, …

Application Of Seawinds Scatterometer Data To The Study Of Antarctic Icebergs, Keith Mitchell Stuart

Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge of iceberg location and size is important for safety reasons as well as for understanding many geophysical and biological processes. This dissertation analyzes large tabular icebergs in the Southern Ocean using the SeaWinds scatterometer. SeaWinds is a spaceborne radar designed to measure the microwave backscatter from the Earth's surface. Using resolution-enhancement techniques, backscatter measurements are processed into backscatter images in which icebergs can be observed. An iceberg detection methodology is formalized using daily scatterometer images. Radar profiles from common Antarctic scatterers are quantified and an iceberg detection methodology is formalized using daily scatterometer images. Iceberg positions are determined in …

Using Genetic Information In Risk Prediction For Alcohol Dependence, Jia Yan

Theses and Dissertations

Family-based and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of alcohol dependence (AD) have reported numerous associated variants. The clinical validity of these variants for predicting AD compared to family history has not yet been reported. These studies aim to explore the aggregate impact of multiple genetic variants with small effect sizes on risk prediction in order to provide a clinical interpretation of genetic contributions to AD. Data simulations showed that given AD’s prevalence and heritability, a risk prediction model incorporating all genetic contributions would have an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) approaching 0.80, which is often a target AUC …

Evaluation Of An Early Intervention Program Using Eligibility Criteria, Emily Kurlansik

Theses and Dissertations

Early Intervention programs are state and federally funded programs that are available in virtually every state that provide support to children birth to three who have developmental delays. Eligibility into the program varies by state and determining eligibility for a child is a complex task that has tremendous implications on both the program and its children. A program evaluation was conducted on a branch of an early intervention program located in New Jersey to determine whether service providers were correctly identifying children who were eligible for services. Results indicated that four of out the 112 children in the program were …

Using Public Relations Techniques To Market Organic Food: Understanding Consumer Buying Behavior, Catherine Girone

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this research were to determine which consumers tend to purchase fresh organic food and which consumers tend to purchase packaged organic food, which type of messaging organic food distributors rely on to entice customers and which messages work most effectively to promote organic food consumption, and which channels different organic consumers use to gain knowledge about organic food. Implications for organic food marketing are discussed.

Novel Discretization Schemes For The Numerical Simulation Of Membrane Dynamics, Kyle F. Kolsti

Theses and Dissertations

Motivated by the demands of simulating flapping wings of Micro Air Vehicles, novel numerical methods were developed and evaluated for the dynamic simulation of membranes. For linear membranes, a mixed-form time-continuous Galerkin method was employed using trilinear space-time elements, and the entire space-time domain was discretized and solved simultaneously. For geometrically nonlinear membranes, the model incorporated two new schemes that were independently developed and evaluated. Time marching was performed using quintic Hermite polynomials uniquely determined by end-point jerk constraints. The single-step, implicit scheme was significantly more accurate than the most common Newmark schemes. For a simple harmonic oscillator, the scheme …

The Characterization Of Material Properties And Structural Dynamics Of The Manduca Sexta Forewing For Application To Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicle Design, Ryan P. O'Hara

Theses and Dissertations

The Manduca Sexta species of moth serves as a source of biological inspiration for the future of micro air vehicle flapping flight. The ability of this species to hover in flapping flight has warranted investigation into the critical material, structural, and geometric properties of the forewing of this biological specimen. A rigorous morphological study of the Manduca Sexta forewing was conducted to characterize the physical and material properties of the biological forewing for the purpose of developing an advanced parametric three dimensional model finite element analysis (FEA) model. This FEA model was tuned to match the experimentally determined structural dynamics …

In-Text And Out-Of-Text Engagement: Interactional Features In Students' Academic Writing And Academic Engagement, Florette Press

Theses and Dissertations

While student engagement theory recognizes writing as an engaging activity, there have been few studies that explore the levels of engagement within college students' academic writing. Analyses of in-text interactions between writers and their imagined reader(s) can uncover writers' attitudes about themselves as writers and as participants in the academic community. This study looked specifically at students' in-text interaction in the context of overall student engagement. Making a connection between interactional features in writing and overall student engagement provided a new perspective by which professors and administrators can evaluate students' academic integration. This study combined text analysis and interviews with …

The Impact Of Sexual Self-Esteem On Sexual Risk Detection In College Women, Lauren Lucente

Theses and Dissertations

Sexual assault victimization has been associated with poor risk recognition and low sexual self-esteem (Gidycz, McNamara, & Edwards, 2006; Schwartz & Shipiro, 1997). Evidence suggests that sexual self-esteem may precede risk recognition subsequently impacting victimization (Mayers, Heller, & Heller, 2003; Zeanah & Schwartz, 1996). The purpose of this study was to investigate the direct predictive impact of global and specific components of sexual self-esteem on risk recognition. Participants engaged a laboratory analog to measure risk detection and completed a series of questionnaires to measure sexual self-esteem. Results indicated that global sexual self-esteem is not predictive of risk recognition. In regard …

Cellular Effects Of Platinum Chemotherapeutics: Alterations By Antidepressants And Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans, Brigitte Engelmann

Theses and Dissertations

The work discussed here is divided into two projects. The first project involves the interactions between antidepressants and the platinum based chemotherapeutics while the second project begins to investigate possible implications of a recently discovered uptake mechanism for positively charged platinum drugs. Gaining understanding of the interactions between antidepressants and platinum-based chemotherapeutics is important due to the frequency with which they are prescribed together. Although using a combination regimen of antineoplastics is beneficial to the patient, not all drug interactions are. For instance, many of the serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been shown to decrease the efficacy of tamoxifen. Desipramine, a …

Virtual And Traditional Slides For Teaching Cellular Morphology To Medical Laboratory Science Undergraduates: A Comparative Study Of Performance Outcomes, Retention, And Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Brooke L. Solberg

Theses and Dissertations

As a result of massive retirement and educational program expense and closure, the field of Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) is facing a critical workforce shortage. Combatting this issue by increasing undergraduate class size is a difficult proposition due to the intense psychomotor curricular requirements of MLS programs. Technological advances in the realm of virtual microscopy, however, provide an opportunity to reach more students by delivering psychomotor components in less restrictive formats. The purpose of this study was to analyze pedagogical comparability of virtual slides and traditional slides regarding immediate and delayed performance, self-efficacy perceptions, student opinion, and faculty observations. Specifically, …

Mapping Nuclear Fallout Using The Weather Research & Forecasting (Wrf) Model, Joseph C. Schofield

Theses and Dissertations

There are many models that attempt to predict transport & dispersion (T&D) of particulate matter in the sensible atmosphere. The majority of these existing models are unable to incorporate atmospheric processes such wet deposition through scavenging and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) formation. To this end, the numerical weather prediction (NWP) model known as the Weather Research & Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF/Chem) Model is studied to determine its suitability as a potential tool for predicting particulate T&D following an atmospheric nuclear detonation. This is done by modifying relevant modules, originally designed to predict the settling of volcanic ash, such that a …

The Psychiatric Residual Effects From Methamphetamine Use, Janet Ann Larson

Theses and Dissertations

Psychiatric symptoms including psychosis and anxiety-like states have been linked to methamphetamine (MA) use, with severity of psychiatric symptoms has been correlated to duration of use. Prolonged psychiatric residual symptoms have been observed and reported, but there have been no studies that have examined residual effects beyond 12 months of abstinence. There are no studies to date which focus on anger, anxiety, and perception of stress as residual effects following 12 months of abstinence. The purpose of this study was to elucidate whether the critical variables of age, gender, and previous substance use influence the experience of anger, anxiety. and …

Keratin 6 As A Potential Biomarker Of Bladder Cancer Induced By Heavy Metals, Arsenic And Cadmium, Ling Cao

Theses and Dissertations

Arsenic and cadmium (Cd2+) are environmental carcinogens that have been implicated in the development of bladder cancer. However, there are no good in vitro model systems to study the development of bladder cancer caused by these carcinogens. Previous studies from this laboratory have shown that arsenite (As3+) and Cd2+ exposure can cause direct malignant transformation of an immortalized human urothelial cell line, the UROtsa. In the present study the repeatability of the transformation process was examined by isolating and characterizing 6 additional Cd2+- transformed lines and 5 additional As3+- transformed cell lines. All the transformed cell lines formed tumors when …

Leptin Expression And Signaling At The Confluence Of Neurodegenerative Mechanisms In Alzheimer Disease, Gurdeep Singh Atamjit Marwarha

Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer Disease (AD) is a progressive, debilitating and the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder affecting 5.5 million people and the sixth leading cause of fatality in the United States. The etiology of AD is not understood and clinically FDA-approved drugs offer only symptomatic relief for a short period of time and in only a subset of AD patients. AD is histopathologically characterized by the presence of extracellular deposits of aggregated Amyloid β (Aβ) peptide as plaques and the intracellular deposition of aggregated hyperphosphorylated tau protein as neurofibrillary tangles (NFT). Leptin, an adipocytokine, has been demonstrated to reduce the genesis of Aβ, …

Post-Translational Regulation Of The Dopamine Transporter, Amy E. Moritz

Theses and Dissertations

The dopamine transporter (DAT) is an integral membrane phosphoprotein found on dopaminergic neurons that mediates the presynaptic reuptake of dopamine and is a site of action for psychostimulants. Numerous DAT functions including efflux, uptake activity, and surface expression are regulated by protein kinase C (PKC) through unknown mechanisms. Basal and PKC stimulated phosphorylation of DAT occurs on multiple serines in the distal N-terminus, but the exact sites modified and the kinases involved are unknown. To address these issues, we examined in vitro phosphorylation of a recombinant DAT N-terminal tail peptide (NDAT). We found that NDAT is phosphorylated at multiple sites …

Synthesis Of Bidentate Ligands Using Cyclopalladated Complexes, Valeria A. Stepanova

Theses and Dissertations

Aminophosphines, diphosphines and related chelating P-containing bidentate ligands, due to their versatile structural features, are considered promising enantioselective catalyst alternatives to symmetric and monodentate phosphine ligands. There are several methods for preparation of such P,N-ligands; however, they are mostly limited to specific cases. In this dissertation, the development of a new general method for synthesis of P-containing bidentate ligands is described. The approach studied is based on using reactions of cyclopalladated complexes (CPCs) with LiPPh2, KPPh2 and HPPh2. This study is the first example of a systematic investigation of reactions of CPCs at a C–Pd bond with phosphorus nucleophiles. A …

Using Macroinvertebrate Community Composition To Distinguish Between Natural And Anthropogenic Sedimentation, Amanda E. Schutt

Theses and Dissertations

Excess fine sediment from human activity is a major pollutant to streams across the U.S.; however, distinguishing human-induced sedimentation from natural fine sediment is complex. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently implemented a protocol for the quantitative field assessment of human-induced sedimentation using measurements of stream geomorphology. Macroinvertebrate community composition, streambed sediment stability, and sediment composition were studied at 49 sites in the James River watershed in central Virginia. Sediment composition was found to be a stronger driver of community composition than sediment stability. Although I was not able to show that macroinvertebrate metrics were related to sediment stability independently …

Preemptive Ketamine Administration, Carisa Zarr

Theses and Dissertations

Optimal pain management for the surgical patient is challenging for anesthesia providers. Finding new and improved methods of relieving surgical pain and evolving new techniques is an area of much research. The concept of preemptive analgesia suggests that the best postoperative pain management begins preoperatively (Morgan, Mikhail, & Murray, 2009). Preemptive administration of analgesic medications is used to stop pain from starting by blocking the nervous system's usual response to pain. This preemptive approach is thought to prevent wind up after the noxious stimulus of a surgical incision and can help prevent heightened sensitivity and lasting pain after surgery

Ketamine …

Hemorrhage Detection And Analysis In Traumatic Pelvic Injuries, Pavani Davuluri

Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic pelvic injuries associated with high-energy pelvic fractures are life-threatening injuries. Extensive bleeding is relatively common with pelvic fractures. However, bleeding is especially prevalent with high-energy fractures. Hemorrhage remains the major cause of death that occur within the first 24 hours after a traumatic pelvic injury. Emergent-life saving treatment is required for high-energy pelvic fractures associated with hemorrhage. A thorough understanding of potential sources of bleeding within a short period is essential for diagnosis and treatment planning. Computed Tomography (CT) images have been widely in use in identifying the potential sources of bleeding. A pelvic CT scan contains a large …

Loss Of The Lipopolysaccharide Core Biosynthesis Rfad Gene Increases Antimicrobial Chemokine Binding And Bacterial Susceptibility To Ccl28 And Polymyxin: A Model For Understanding The Interface Of Antimicrobial Chemokines And Bacterial Host Defense Avoidance Mechanisms, Cynthia S. Lew

Theses and Dissertations

In order to better understand the mechanism of antimicrobial chemokine activity, including binding to and killing of bacteria, random transposon mutagenesis was performed in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Resulting mutants were screened for increased binding to chemokine and high binding clones were selected for further study. One mutant, designated mutant 27, was found to have a single insertion mutation in the rfaD gene. The rfaD gene product is involved in heptose biosynthesis, one of the sugars of the inner core oligosaccharide of Gram- negative lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Mutant 27 was found to bind both CCL25 and CCL28, two antimicrobial chemokines, more efficiently than …

Student Involvement Theory: Patterns Of Sport Club Participation At Rowan University, Brian Stelzer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine patterns of involvement relating to the sport club student athletes during the 2011/12 academic year at Rowan University. The study also sought to examine how this involvement affected attitudes of students toward various aspects of campus. Survey responses were analyzed to determine frequency, mean, standard deviation, percentages and correlations between demographics and reported involvement activities. The study examined the similarities between club sports, varsity athletics, and student government involvement at Rowan University. The findings suggested that students involved in sport clubs chose other physical activities, such as exercising and intramural athletics, as …

Role Of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors In Experimental Colitis, Shakir Alsharari

Theses and Dissertations

Substantial evidence in the literature shows that tobacco smoking has complex and divergent effects on inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). It ameliorates ulcerative colitis (UC); whereas it aggravates the risk of Crohn’s disease (CD) and affects the disease course and severity. Studies have shown that nicotine has a positive influence on symptoms of UC. Also, it is demonstrated that nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, especially α7 subunit plays an essential component in the vagus nerve-based cholinergic anti-inflammatory effects. In the present study, we explored the effect of nicotine and α7 nicotinic agonists treatment in the DSS colitis mouse model. We also investigated the …