Digital Commons Network^™

Gender Inequality : A Meta-Analysis Of Trends In The State Gender Bias Task Force Studies, Karen D. Nelson-Schiff

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Human Landscape Features And Associated Predator Influences On Duck Nest Survival In The Prairie Pothole Region, Scott A. Abel

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Energetic Costs Of Digenean Trematode Metacercariae On The Swimming Performance Of Fish Hosts, Eric A. Bless

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Illustration Of Mentoring Enactment Theory, Ronald W. Hochstatter

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Reasons For Dieting And The Relation To Body Image And The Media, Naomi Hovendick

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Fluorescent Silica Nanoparticles : Fundamental Study And Application, Song Liang

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Remote Sensing-Based Study Of Land-Cover Changes Related To Mining And Its Impacts On Marine Fauna : A Case Study In Goa, India, Lisa M. Kuchy

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Protein Electrophoresis Gel Images, Yassin Labyed

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Amphibian Reproduction In Restored Wetland Habitat In Northwestern Minnesota, Jessica A. Larson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Baseline Data On The Wellness Of University Students, Stefanie M. Meyer

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Diluents For Cryopreservation Of Semen From Non-Woolly Llamas (Lama Glama), Franz Nicolas Bustos Fernández

Theses and Dissertations

The collection and preservation of llama semen is not a standardized procedure as it is in cattle. It has a number of complications that are mainly associated with the characteristics of the semen. In order to contribute to the knowledge of reproductive biology, we decided to evaluate the behavior of llama semen in relation to the different diluters in this study. This study was done at the National Germplasm Bank for Camelids which is part of the Ministry of Rural Development of Agriculture and Environment. The Ministry is located in the Agriculture Experiment Center of Condoriri which belongs to the …

The Vascular Flora Of Saline County, Arkansas, Charles Theodore Witsell

Theses and Dissertations

The vascular flora of Saline County, Arkansas was collected from March 2002 to November 2007 resulting in a total of 1,510 taxa (52% of the known flora of Arkansas), representing 165 families, 617 genera, and 1,457 species. Of these, 241 (15.9%) are non-native and 99 (6.6%) are of state conservation concern. Of these, 20 taxa (1.3%) are considered to be of global conservation concern (G1-G3). Twenty-seven habitats and plant communities are qualitatively described from the county. Of these, shale barrens, igneous glades, pine flatwoods, swamp lakes and floatant marshes, channel scar depression ponds, high-gradient stream channels, and bluffs and talus …

A Browser-Side Solution For Detection And Prevention Of Cross-Site Request Forgery Attacks, Mary C. Henthorn

Theses and Dissertations

The security of web-based applications concerns everyone who conducts business online. Cross-site request forgeries (CSRF) subject users, as well as applications, to attack. Cloaked by the standardized request and response interchange between browsers and web-based applications, an attacker can employ the browser as an agent to slip data into the transaction. CSRF exploits ride on session authentication and authorization, stealthily bypassing the security measures intended to form bonds of trust between the user and the application. Until CSRF protection is incorporated in all web-based applications, wary users may look for client-side protection. This thesis offers an original Firefox browser extension …

In-Situ And Simultaneous Measurements Of Size And Charge Distributions Of Dust On Mars: Instrumentation And Analysis, Praveen Kumar Srirama

Theses and Dissertations

Martian dust characterization is important for minimizing the effects of abrasion, adhesion, corrosion, and damage to mission hardware, and also to reduce the effect on human health during future robotic and human exploratory missions. Characterizing the particle size and charge on Mars dust will help in the development of techniques for dust mitigation. Presently there is no miniature instrument which is capable of in-situ and real time measurements on Mars. In order to simultaneously analyze the particle size and charge of Mars dust, a Dust Particle Analyzer (DPA) has been developed and tested which is based on a Laser Doppler …

A Scent-Station Survey Of Medium-Size Mammals On The Callaway Preserve, Harris County, Georgia, Anna-Maria Giacobello

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this project was to determine the relative abundance of medium- sized mammals on the Callaway Preserve in Harris County, Georgia, using the scent- station technique, to determine species preference in regard to habitat, to compare relative abundance of species in regard to habitat, and to compare habitats in terms of the species present. Thirty-six scent-stations were established on the property and monitored to observe the presence of coyotes, raccoons, armadillos, foxes, opossums, and skunks. Of the total number of visits to the scent-stations, 36.36 % were coyotes, 18.18% were foxes 22.73% were armadillos, and 22.73% were raccoons. …

Ecology Of Wood Frog (Rana Sylvatica) Parasites On The Northern Plains, Eric E. Pulis

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

From Grassland To Woodland : A 42-Year Chronosequence Of Woody Plant Expansion In Mandan, Nd, Anna L. Springsteen

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Role Of A Family History Of Alcohol Or Drug Abuse On Ptsd Outcomes Following Community Violence Exposure, Kathryn Reid-Quinones

Theses and Dissertations

Research consistently has revealed the damaging consequences of children's repeated exposure to community violence and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the most commonly cited internalizing disorder associated with such exposure. However, not all children who are exposed to community violence develop PTSD symptoms; thus, it is important to identify factors that contribute to this deleterious relationship. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relation of community violence exposure (CVE)and PTSD in a sample of urban adolescents. Additionally, the study assessed whether a maternal history of alcohol or drug abuse would exacerbate the association of CVE andPTSD symptoms …

Cannabinoid Modulation Of Chemotaxis Of Macrophages And Macrophage-Like Cells, Erinn Shenee Raborn

Theses and Dissertations

Exogenous and endogenous cannabinoids have been reported to modulate functional activities of macrophages. It is recognized that macrophages express primarily the CB2 cannabinoid receptor, but recent studies indicate that its expression is differential in relation to activation state with maximal levels occurring when cells are in "responsive" and "primed" states. The functional activities of macrophages when in these states of activation are the most susceptible to the action of cannabinoids, at least in terms of a functional linkage to the CB2. To assess the effect of cannabinoid treatment on macrophage chemotaxis and test the hypothesis that cannabinoids inhibit the chemotactic …

Supporting Data-Intensive Wireless Sensor Applications Using Smart Data Fragmentation And Buffer Management, Mbonisi Masilela

Theses and Dissertations

Recent advances in low power device technology have led to the development of smaller powerful sensors geared for use in Wireless Sensor Networks. Some of these sensors are capable of producing large data packets in a single reading. This becomes a challenging problem given the constraints imposed by current MAC and Transport Layer implementations since a single data packet can exceed the MTU of the protocol stack. Little has been done in the way of addressing this issue in Wireless Sensor Networks. This paper proposes a novel solution to this issue. Proposed is a Lightweight Data Transportation Protocol that uses …

An Examination Of The Relationships Among Health Literacy, Social Support, And Patient Activation In Community Residing Older Adults, Brenda L. Harding Hage

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationships among the variables health literacy, social support, and patient activation. The subjects were 90 elderly, community residing adults meeting the inclusion criteria and who volunteered to participate in the study and completed three survey instruments: the Short Form of Functional Health Literacy (Parker, Baker, Williams & Nurss, 1995); the Medical Outcomes Survey (MOS) Social Support Survey Instrument (Sherboume & Stewart, 1991); the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) Short-Form (Hibbard, Mahoney, Stockard, & Tusler, 2005); and a demographic form.

A correlational design was used to test the hypotheses that social support and health literacy are positively related …

Exploring The Ligand Binding Site On The Dopamine Transporter By Photoaffinity Labeling And Site-Directed Mutagenesis, Maria Laura Parnas

Theses and Dissertations

The dopamine transporter (DAT) is a neuronal presynaptic transmembrane protein that clears released dopamine (DA) from the synaptic space, regulating the neurotransmitter concentration and availability, DAT and the related serotonin (SERT) and norepinephrine (NET) transporters belong to the SLC6 family of Na+ and CI- dependent symporters, and are major targets for the action of several drugs, including the psychostimulant cocaine. DAT is predicted to possess 12 transmembrane spanning domains (TMs), with both N- and C-termini located intracellularly. Extensive research efforts to gain insight on the molecular aspects of DAT have been attempted, but the three-dimensional arrangement of the protein as …

The Applicability Of The Escape Theory Of Suicide To Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, Erica R. Hoff

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Modulation Of Thioredoxin Reductase By Selenium And Sulforphane, Peter D. Leary

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Environmental Complexity Analysis For Robot-Environment System Design, Gang Yang

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, researchers have begun to investigate intelligent environments for robot applications. In this work, a robot and its work environment can be considered to be an integrated system. Currently, such robot-environment systems are designed on an ad-hoc basis, with the final performance of the system greatly dependent on the experience and preferences of the designer. This dissertation investigates a way to improve on this situation by looking at the complexity of an environment from the perspective of a robot. The objective of this research is to develop a method to evaluate environmental complexity and then use this information to help …

Computational Models To Predict The Inhibition Of Cytochrome P450 3a4 By Selected Natural Compounds, Sushma Thotakura

Theses and Dissertations

Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) plays a pivotal role in the metabolism of xenobiotics. Methylenedioxobenzene containing natural products have been shown to inhibit CYP3A4. Given that these compounds are widely distributed in nature there is a strong potential for drug interaction with many plants used for dietary or medicinal purposes. In this research we have developed two different computational models (Comparative Molecular Field Model and Artificial Neural Network Model) to assist in the identification of potentially strong inhibitors that could be further studied for potential inhibitory effects. These models were used to screen for the CYP3A4 inhibitory effects of 100 naturally …

Demystifying Content Management: Practical Applications For Writing Professionals, Nancy J. Howard

Theses and Dissertations

"Demystifying Content Management: Practical Applications for Writing Professionals" explores the subject of content management. This thesis explains what content management is, and it suggests a realistic approach for developing a content management plan and choosing a content management system (CMS). Before selecting a CMS, companies should define requirements, identify staffing needs, evaluate their content life cycle, and create an information model. Once the organization has a content management strategy, it can begin the process of choosing a CMS. This process involves establishing selection criteria, researching and evaluating potential vendors, and then making the final selection. This thesis concludes by identifying …

Differentiating Between Women In Hard And Soft Science And Engineering Disciplines, Amanda Gail Camp

Theses and Dissertations

The intent of the study was to investigate how women in hard (engineering, mathematics, computer science, physical science) and soft (social, psychological, life sciences) sciences differ from each other among a set of variables known to influence educational attainment and to evaluate how well Weidman's undergraduate socialization model explains higher education's influence on women in science and engineering fields. Using the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (1996-2001), descriptive discriminant analysis and multivariate analysis of variance were used to identify differences among the women, and structural equation modeling was used to evaluate Weidman's model. Results indicated that women who went into …

Evaluation And Characterization Of Some Biologically Active Coumarin Derived Sulfonamides, Harish Gosike

Theses and Dissertations

Sulfonamide drugs discovered in the 1930's were the first effective chemotherapeutic agents to be employed for the prevention and cure of bacterial infections in humans. Bacterial resistance to these drugs over the years has led to the development of new variety of sulfonamide derivatives. Recently Chohan et al. synthesized a series of coumarin derived sulfonamides and their chemical structures have been established. In this report, we present some microbiological studies to establish the antibacterial characters of these compounds. In order to establish their chemical structure-biological activity relationship, electrochemical and spectroscopic studies have been conducted. Antibacterial studies conducted on these compounds …

Giant Pandas Balance Energy Budgets With Metabolic Depression: Insights From Radar Detection Of Heart Rates, Tommy Gene Finley

Theses and Dissertations

Giant pandas ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca ) are flagship species for conservation because of their endangered status and charismatic nature. Giant pandas are placed in the bear family (Urisidae) within the order Carnivora. They specialize on a diet of bamboo, yet retain a typical carnivore gastrointestinal tract. Low energy digestive efficiency (9.5–34%) was calculated from bamboo-only digestibility trials conducted on captive giant pandas. Huge amounts of bamboo are consumed to overcome inefficient extraction and thus obtain sufficient energy and nutrients. I designed this study to gain insights into giant panda energy balance by measuring heart rates during sleep, their primary means …