Digital Commons Network^™

Epicene Pronoun Use In Modern American English, Robin Montgomery Watson

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional prescriptive grammar for English states that the epicene or gender neutral pronoun for third person singular use is he. Research into speaker perceptions has clearly demonstrated that he is not perceived as neutral. Research has also shown traditionally proscribed epicene pronouns such as he or she and singular they to be commonly used, despite the long-standing proscriptions against them. The author examines the endurance of such proscribed options through the lens of markedness theory, considering the impact of cultural values on speakers' epicene pronoun choices. Gender in language is also considered, as well as Kuryłowicz‘s 4th Law of …

Factors Influencing Shopping, Cooking, And Eating Behaviors Among Low-Income Families During A One-Month Period Of Time, Janice Darko

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To evaluate changes in shopping behaviors among low-income families over a one-month period of time in Utah County, Utah.

Design: Two researchers conducted thirteen 90-minute focus groups.

Setting: Two community organizations serving low-income populations and a university campus.

Participants: Seventy-two low-income adults who were the primary household food shoppers and who had at least one child less than 18 years in their household.

Main Outcome Measures: Shopping behavior changes during one month period of time.

Analysis: Focus groups were recorded and transcribed, and then coded independently by two researchers with any differences reconciled. Paired t-tests were used to test …

Contributions Of Father Involvement In Family Leisure To Family Functioning, Lydia Anne Buswell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine to the contribution of fathers' involvement in family leisure to aspects of family functioning. The sample consisted of 647 families of fathers and a youth from throughout the United States. The Family Leisure Activity Profile (FLAP) was used to measure family leisure involvement. FACES II was used to measure family functioning. Results from the father and youth perspective indicated significant relationships between father involvement in both core and balance family leisure to various aspects of family functioning. Core family leisure involvement was the only family leisure involvement variable related to family adaptability …

The Effects Of Motivational Interviewing In Pregnancy On Knowledge And Retention Of Infant Oral Health Information, Andrew Zima

Theses and Dissertations

THE EFFECTS OF MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING IN PREGNANCY ON KNOWLEDGE AND RETENTION OF INFANT ORAL HEALTH INFORMATION By Andrew D. Zima, Jr., B.S., M.S., D.D.S. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Dentistry at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010 Major Director: Tegwyn H. Brickhouse, D.D.S., Ph.D Associate Professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry Purpose: The purpose was to examine the effect of motivational counseling in pregnancy with readiness and acceptance of infant oral health information. Methods: The study used a prospective cohort design to examine the effect of prenatal education …

Small Molecule Inhibitors Of Mapk And Pi3k Pathways Enhance Mda-7 Lethality In Renal Cell Carcinoma, Patrick Eulitt

Theses and Dissertations

Renal cell carcinoma accounted for an estimated 57,760 new cases and estimated 12,980 deaths in the United States in 2009. Current treatment options for systemic renal cell carcinoma yield markedly low response percentages; however, recent cytokine therapy experiments have produced promising results. A novel adenovirus, Ad.5/3-mda-7, has been synthesized to efficiently infect renal cancer cells with the mda-7 gene. This gene encodes for the cytokine MDA-7/IL-24 that has the ability to specifically target transformed cells. Assays performed with this adenovirus resulted in an increased percentage of cell death in renal cancer cells when compared to infection with Ad.5/3-cmv empty vector. …

Differential Roles Of The Two Major Endocannabinoid Hydrolyzing Enzymes In Cannabinoid Receptor Tolerance And Somatic Withdrawal, Joel Schlosburg

Theses and Dissertations

While there is currently active debate over possible therapeutic applications of marijuana and cannabis-based compounds, consistently their primary drawbacks have been the psychoactive properties, dependence, and abuse potential. Prolonged administration of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive constituent in marijuana, demonstrates both tolerance and physical withdrawal in both preclinical and clinical studies. Repeated THC administration also produces CB1 receptor adaptations in the form of reduced activation of receptors, along with a downregulation of membrane surface receptors, in many brain regions involved in THC-associated behaviors. The increased need for drug to maintain therapeutic effects, and a withdrawal syndrome following discontinuation of use, …

Cluster And Classification Analysis Of Fossil Invertebrates Within The Bird Spring Formation, Arrow Canyon, Nevada: Implications For Relative Rise And Fall Of Sea-Level, Scott L. Morris

Theses and Dissertations

Carbonate strata preserve indicators of local marine environments through time. Such indicators often include microfossils that have relatively unique conditions under which they can survive, including light, nutrients, salinity, and especially water temperature. As such, microfossils are environmental proxies. When these microfossils are preserved in the rock record, they constitute key components of depositional facies. Spence et al. (2004, 2007) has proposed several approaches for determining the facies of a given stratigraphic succession based upon these proxies. Cluster analysis can be used to determine microfossil groups that represent specific environmental conditions. Identifying which microfossil groups exist through time can indicate …

Implication Of Gender Stereotypes For Public Policy, Sharon Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Stereotypes continue to be present and impact the assessment of women’s leadership effectiveness. Using a data set of senior executives in the public sector from The Leadership Circle multi-rater assessment tool, research supports the theory that gender influences how bosses rate their direct reports on leadership effectiveness. Survey data identifying leadership characteristics in the assessment as communal or agentic substantiate role congruence theory that women are still penalized for behaving contrary to the feminine stereotype. Role congruence theory seeks to explain the barriers that prevent women from rising into leadership positions. Representative bureaucracy explains the consequence in public policy when …

Diet Reconstruction Of Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis) Using Stable Isotopes, Joshua M. Whitaker

Theses and Dissertations

We determined the diet contributions of grasses, forbs and shrubs for three herds of bighorn sheep along the Wasatch Front, Utah using stable isotope techniques and determined the electivity values for different forage species for four herds. Forbs were generally the most common forage eaten across all herds while shrubs were the least used forage resource. The Provo Peak and Mount Nebo herds used grasses, forbs and shrubs at proportions similar to other bighorn sheep populations across the west, while the Antelope Island herd used forbs at higher levels than any other local herd. Additionally, the herd on Antelope Island …

Predicting Functional Protein Complexes In The Glycolytic Pathway: Computer Simulations Of Compartmentation And Channeling In Glycolysis, Neville Y. Forlemu

Theses and Dissertations

Functional protein-protein interactions are essential for many physiological processes. For example, the association of glycolytic enzymes to F-actin is proposed to be one mechanism through which glycolytic enzymes are compartmentalized, and as a result, plays essential roles such as regulation of the glycolytic pathway, substrate channeling and increasing glycolytic flux. An accurate molecular picture describing such interaction, however, is not yet generalized. Similarly, questions about the specificity and extensive nature of such functional complexes in a variety of cells, tissues, or organisms, still remain ambiguous. Examination of these interactions in various animal species tests this hypothesis by observing whether binding …

Basal And Metal-Induced Expression Of Metallothionein And Zinc Transporters In The Rwpe-1 Human Prostate Epithelial Cell Line, Amy L. Albrecht

Theses and Dissertations

Prostate cancer is a leading cause of death among men world wide; while prostate cancer has many factors leading to its development; one such factor is cadmium exposure. Cadmium is a known human carcinogen and is an environmental factor that has been linked with prostate cancer progression. Metallothionein (MT) is a cadmium binding protein that is expressed within human tissues that may play a role in prostate carcinogenesis. Zinc is an important metal within the body and the prostate contains high levels of this metal within the cytosol of the cells, whereas the prostate cancer cells do not retain this …

The Development And Initial Validation Of A Relational Health Scale, Darcie M. Sell

Theses and Dissertations

The characteristics of healthy relationships are an important area of study that have received increasing amounts of attention in recent years. John Gottman has developed a theory of healthy relationships that includes constructs relating to conflict management and everyday interactions. Most researchers (including Gottman) focus on relational health in the context of marriage. While the dynamics in a marriage are certainly important to study, including the examination of the relational quality of other dyads (e.g. dating partners, friends, siblings) provides an opportunity to better understand how people relate to the closest person in their life, regardless of relationship status. This …

Adrenergic Receptor Modulation Of Hippocampal Ca3 Network Activity, Christopher W. D. Jurgens

Theses and Dissertations

Norepinephrine (NE) is an endogenous neurotransmitter distributed throughout the mammalian brain. NE has demonstrated proconvulsant and antiepileptic properties. In higher cortical structures such as the hippocampus, a region often involved in temporal lobe epilepsy, NE has been shown to reinforce the cognitive processes of attention and memory. However, the specific mechanism of these actions has not been clearly established. To address this, the effects of NE were studied on hippocampal CA3 network activity. Frequency changes of burst discharges in response to NE were biphasic; low concentrations increased the number of bursts, while higher concentrations suppressed the number of bursts, suggesting …

App Is A Novel Proinflammatory Receptor On Vascular Endothelium That Is Involved In The Vascular Dysfunction Associated With Atherosclerosis And Ad, Susan A. Austin

Theses and Dissertations

Amyloid precursor protein (APP) is a ubiquitously expressed type one integral membrane protein. Due to its ability to bind components of the extracellular matrix and propagate signaling responses via its cytoplasmic phosphotyrosine binding motif it has been suggested to function in cellular adhesion. Here, we utilized brain tissue and aorta from human and apolipoprotein E -/- (apoE-/-) mice to examine vascular inflammation associated changes related to APP. We also examined AD brain tissue for similar changes. Human atherosclerotic aorta, human AD cerebrovasculature and mouse apoE-/- aorta and cerebrovasculature revealed strong endothelial immunoreactivity for APP, APP phosphorylated at tyrosine residue 682 …

Role Of Dendritic Cells In Spontaneous Polychondritis: Pathogenesis And Prevention, Maninder Sidhu

Theses and Dissertations

Spontaneous polyarthritis (SA) is an autoimmune disease that develops spontaneously at 4 months of age in the HLA-DQ6αβ8αβ double transgenic (tg) mice. The disease is characterized by lymphocyte infiltration in joints leading to chronic polyarthritis in the extremities similar to human rheumatoid arthritis. Immature dendritic cells (iDCs) have a tolerogenic potential due to low expression of important costimulatory cell surface molecules required for antigen presentation and induction of an effective immune response. In this study it has been shown that injection of iDCs pulsed with chick type II collagen (CII) significantly delayed the onset and suppressed the severity of SA …

The Meaning Of Development Of Filipinos By Filipinos In Diaspora: Rhetorical Vision In Participatory Communication, Louella Lim Lofranco

Theses and Dissertations

Development is currently one of the drivers of international migration resulting in south-to-north or third-to-first world movements of immigrants seeking for a better life in more developed countries. Consequently, new economic diaspora communities are being formed, most of which help alleviate poverty of relatives back home through regular remittances, now considered an important source of foreign capital in many developing economies. Amidst new challenges for the field of development is the question of the relevance of development communication in migration and diaspora. This exploratory study investigates the role of participatory development communication in expanding diaspora contributions to their home countries. …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Optically-Active Oxazoline-Based Endo And Exo Cyclopalladated Complexes, Relindis Y. Mawo

Theses and Dissertations

Cyclopalladated complexes constitute a fair portion of species in the organometallic family. They have interesting properties and potential applications in a variety of areas. Optically-active cyclopalladated complexes can serve as catalysts or pre-catalysts in asymmetric synthesis, reagents for chiral resolution, chiral derivatizing agents for optical purity determination, and starting materials for preparation of more complex enantiopure compounds. This dissertation focuses on preparation and characterization of new optically-active cyclopalladated and Pd(II) coordination complexes of monodentate oxazolines. New and previously reported optically-active oxazolines were synthesized from commercially available chiral α-amino alcohols using published procedures. Regioselectivity of oxazoline cyclopalladation was studied using (S)-2-tert-butyl-4-phenyl-2-oxazoline. …

Photochemistry Of Multiple Metal Coordination Compounds With And Without Metal -Metal Bonding, Ladislav Sallai

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this work is twofold. First, the study of the photochemistry of metal-metal bonded compounds in the presence of stannylenes and the proposition of the mechanisms of the reactions may aid in possible uses of these compounds as radical scavengers, as catalysts for hydrogenation of olefins and also in desulfurization of coal and petroleum feedstocks, also as super reducing agents and bifunctional catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch process. Secondly, in the iron(III)-carboxylate photochemistry the determination of the factors influencing the photochemistry are crucial in solving the important questions of photoreactivity. This study is important as one of the possible ways …

Proteasome-Dependent Entry Of Herpes Simplex Virus, Mark Delboy

Theses and Dissertations

Herpes simplex virus entry into cells is a multistep process that engages the host cell machinery. The proteasome is a large, ATP-dependent, multisubunit protease that plays a critical role in the maintenance of cell homeostasis. A battery of assays were used to demonstrate that proteasome inhibitors blocked an early step in herpes simplex virus entry that occurred after capsid penetration into the cytosol but prior to capsid arrival at the nuclear periphery. Proteasome-dependent viral entry was not reliant on host or viral protein synthesis. MG132, a peptide aldehyde that competitively inhibits the degradative activity of the proteasome, had a reversible …

From The Old To The New World: The Transformation Of Kongo Minkisi In African American Art, Mary Mccurnin

Theses and Dissertations

Minkisi (sing. nkisi) were sacred objects that housed ancestral spirits and were used for divination, healing and social justice by the Kongo people of Central Africa. When the Kongo were brought as slaves to the New World, they contributed significantly to the development of African American artistic and spiritual culture. In the Caribbean, aspects of minkisi have been retained in the creolized spiritual beliefs of Haitian Vodou, Cuban Palo Monte Mayombe and Brazilian Candomble. In North America, evidence of Kongo influence is apparent in examples of folk art and culture, including quilts, mojo hands, Afro-Carolinian face vessels, memory jugs and …

Gene Flow And Dispersal Of The Caddisfly, Neothremma Alicia, In The Rocky Mountains Of Utah: A Multiscale Analysis, Xioben Jiang

Theses and Dissertations

We determined genetic variance and gene flow across multiple scales (reaches, tributaries, and catchments) to examine the dispersal ability of the caddisfly, Neothremma alicia in streams along the Wasatch Range in the Rocky Mountains of Utah. Neothremma alicia is one of the most abundant caddisflies in this region. We generated DNA sequence data (mitochondrial COI) from 34 reaches, nested in 15 tributaries distributed across 3 adjacent catchments. We identified 47 haplotypes from a total of 486 individuals. The most abundant haplotype (H1) was found at all sites/reaches and comprised 44% of the total number of individuals sequenced. The remaining rare …

The Influence Of Organizational Culture On The Existence Of Systems Employed To Improve Quality Of Care In Medical Office Practices, Donna Dugan

Theses and Dissertations

A frequently cited reason for poor quality of care in the ambulatory care setting is the lack of optimally designed systems to address care for those with preventive or chronic care needs. Organizational theory suggests that culture plays an important role in the shaping of these types of programs. The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to understand through descriptive and regression analysis of secondary data, the relationship between the existence of cultural characteristics such as collegiality, quality emphasis and autonomy, and the systems employed to improve quality of care within primary care practices. The study uses an integrated theoretical …

With Or Without You: The Impact Of Partner Presence And Attachment On Exploration, Anthony Coy

Theses and Dissertations

Expanding upon past research demonstrating that attachment orientation influences adult exploration, this thesis examined the impact of both actor and partner attachment anxiety and avoidance as well as real or imagined partner presence on outcomes of exploratory behavior (study 1a) and the desire to explore (study 1b). Eighty six couples were randomly assigned to explore (i.e., a meditation activity) with or without their partner in the lab, and to imagine exploring with or without their partner when rating their desire to complete potential exploratory behaviors. The effects of actor anxiety and avoidance on exploration were moderated by partner presence for …

Ribosomal Rna Mutations That Inhibit The Activity Of Transfer-Messenger Rna Of Stalled Ribosomes, Jacob N. Crandall

Theses and Dissertations

In eubacteria, stalled ribosomes are rescued by a conserved quality-control mechanism involving transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA) and its protein partner SmpB. Mimicking a tRNA, tmRNA enters stalled ribosomes, adds Ala to the nascent polypeptide, and serves as a template to encode a short peptide that tags the nascent protein for destruction. To further characterize the tagging process, we developed two genetic selections that link tmRNA activity to cell death. These negative selections can be used to identify inhibitors of tagging or to identify mutations in key residues essential for ribosome rescue. Little is known about which ribosomal elements are specifically required …

Instructional Readers: Teaching Content Through Vocabulary, Rachel E. Wood

Theses and Dissertations

This project resulted in the creation of a prototype for a new book series entitled Instructional Readers that will be linguistically engineered to assist English-language learners in acquiring academic and content-based vocabulary in the sciences. The development of the prototype represented a process of trial and error, with decisions firmly grounded in extensive research concerning linguistic features that assist vocabulary growth while reading. The end result, the prototype entitled Cellular Transport, reflects the author's best attempt to combine these features. The project write-up details the steps used in writing the prototype to aid in the creation of similar instructional …

Perifosine, A Novel Akt Inhibitor Induces Apoptosis, Cell Cycle Arrest And Has A Chemo-Sensitizing Effect In Medulloblastoma Cell Lines, Anil Kumar

Theses and Dissertations

Primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors are the most common solid tumors found in children. While surgery and radiotherapy still remain the standard treatment modalities in pediatric brain tumors, chemotherapy also has an important part in the management of these tumors. However, most of the available chemotherapeutic drugs have suboptimal effectiveness. Deregulation of various pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic pathways has been cited as a major mechanism underlying this drug resistance. The role of various serine threonine kinases, including Akt kinases, in promoting drug resistance is being extensively studied in various cancers. A complete understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie drug …

Differences In Peer Perception Of Alcohol Use, Personal Alcohol Use, And Levels Of Intoxication Among Students At Virginia Commonwealth University From 2002 To 2004., William Evans

Theses and Dissertations

This study involves the examination of National Collegiate Health Assessment (NCHA) data collected by the VCU Wellness Resource Center. This study will compare trends in college student health behavior perceptions and personal activity regarding alcohol use, as self-reported via the NCHA data, with a particular focus on a comparison between 2002, which is the year that the Wellness Resource Center (then known as the Office of Health Promotion) first implemented an alcohol education campaign based upon a “social norms” theoretical framework, and 2004, after 18 months of intensive campaigning. Thus, the aim of the project is to examine the changes …

The Influences Of Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 Expression On Glioblastoma Pathology, Nicholas Pullen

Theses and Dissertations

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive central nervous system (CNS) cancer characterized by enhanced tumor cell motility, pernicious invasion into the normal brain, extensive tumor-induced angiogenesis, and adaptive resistance to current therapeutic paradigms. One of the difficulties associated with GBM is the ability of the tumor cells to infiltrate normal CNS tissue. Neurosurgeons can remove the primary tumor mass, but peripheral cells that are inaccessible will ultimately result in a secondary lesion that can lead to death. The matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are well known for their abilities to facilitate processes of cellular motility and invasion through their clearance of extracellular …

Electrodeposited Silica Thin Films, Debbie Campbell-Rance

Theses and Dissertations

Sol-gel derived silica thin film synthesis has gained prominence because of the mild processing conditions and widespread understanding of the chemistry of the process. Traditionally, silicate films are prepared by spin- and dip-coating but these materials lack the desired porosity for sensing, separations and catalysis applications. Electrochemical deposition was proposed to improve the porosity of silicate films. The main aims of this work were threefold. First we wanted to elucidate what parameters influenced film formation during electrodeposition. Then we wanted to understand how these parameters affected the morphology of the materials prepared. These films were characterized by profilometry, AFM, and …

Size-Structured Competition And Predation In Red-Eyed Treefrog Tadpoles, Christopher Asquith

Theses and Dissertations

Body size is important in determining the outcome of competition and predator-prey interactions. Size structure of a population (i.e. relative proportion of large and small conspecifics) may be particularly important in organisms with prolonged breeding periods and rapid growth where populations may have multiple cohorts at different stages of development competing for one resource. Both the consumptive and nonconsumptive effects of predators can also be size-dependent and can alter competitive interactions. Here we study the importance of size structure in the Neotropical leaf-breeding tree frog, Agalychnis callidryas. This species is a prolonged breeder such that multiple overlapping cohorts of differing …