Digital Commons Network^™

An In Silico Study Of G Protein-Coupled-Receptor Activation, Specifically In The Corticotropin Releasing Factor Receptor And The Glucagon-Like Peptide Receptor, Nicolas Angelo Scorese

Theses and Dissertations

The drug discovery process is an extremely long and expensive process that modern computational methods help to alleviate. Through the use of computational methods, we provide information and insight into the activation methods of class B GPCRs so that future drugs can be developed to have less side effects. The first study focuses on the corticotropin releasing factor receptor, which is a good drug target for anxiety and depression. A mechanism of activation was theorized which focuses less on molecular switches (as has been the focus of several papers) and more on large scale conformation at the intracellular region of …

Is There Synergy Between Song Learning And Vocal Stimuli Discrimination Training?, Kenta Watanabe

Theses and Dissertations

Does auditory discrimination ability predict greater accuracy in imitating song? We investigated this question in zebra finch males by testing if the accuracy of vocal imitation of song syllables relates to auditory discrimination performance. The majority of birds improved on imitating their discriminated syllable pairs over non-discriminated syllable sets.

Investigating Color Additive Molecules For Pharmaceutical And Cosmetic Applications: A Comparison Of Theoretical And Experimental Uv-Visible Absorbance Spectra In Tunable Solvents, Jacqueline Casey Mohen

Theses and Dissertations

Color additive molecules have widespread applications ranging from ingestible foods and pharmaceutics to non-ingestible cosmetics and other naturally or synthetically developed consumer products available worldwide. Certification for approved use of color additives varies globally; therefore, a feasible method to analyze existing color additives or to design novel color additive molecules with enhanced or otherwise desired physicochemical properties (such as hue) is in high demand for universal adoption. The studies herein provide sufficient proof that density functional theory and time-dependent density functional theory serve as effective predictive modeling techniques for generating theoretical maximum absorbance spectral peak responsivity for a single color …

Identification, Expression And Biochemical Characterization Of Amp Phosphorylases From Extreme Environments, Noha Attallah

Theses and Dissertations

Nucleotide analogs are interesting pharmaceutical intermediates as they represent the active form of nucleoside analog drugs, that are used in the treatment of cancer or viral infections. They are used as precursors in the preparation of artificial oligonucleotides for therapeutic or diagnostic use. Enzymes as active biocatalysts offer numerous advantages over traditional chemical processes with respect to high process selectivity and efficiency. Recently, adenosine-5’-monophosphate phosphorylase (AMP-P) was identified to catalyze the reversible phosphorolysis of nucleotides into nucleobase and ribose-1,5-bisphosphate. Therefore, it is an attractive and promising biocatalyst in the synthesis of nucleotides and their analogs. The availability of enzymes with …

Knowledge, Concerns, And Interventions Related To D / Deaf English Learners, Molly Beth Turner

Theses and Dissertations

In education today, there is an increasing population of individuals who are d/Deaf/Hard of Hearing and English Learners (d/DHH/ELs). This population of students need innovative teaching strategies to achieve optimal outcomes. Schools are challenged with providing education to these students, and there are many barriers to overcome. Teachers receive little to no education on how to teach this combined population of learners. Students who are d/DHH/ELs arrive to the educational setting with many barriers that are present in both the school and home.

A review of the literature revealed that minimal strategies exist to support the d/DHH/EL population. Literacy strategies …

Thalamic Morphology In Non-Semantic Primary Progressive Aphasia, Holly Rochelle Paxton

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a clinical dementia syndrome characterized by impairments in language. The presence of Alzheimer disease (AD) neuropathology has been observed in approximately 40% of PPA cases. Cross-sectional and longitudinal features of cortical atrophy in PPA are emerging but less is known about the integrity of subcortical structures, particularly the thalamus. As a major relay station in the brain, the thalamus is implicated in language functioning given its reciprocal connections with perisylvian regions in the cortex. High-dimensional brain mapping was used to characterize thalamic morphology in individuals with and without non-semantic PPA. Further, shape differences were …

The Power Of Motherhood: Leah Widtsoe's Writings On Women's Roles, Influence, And The Priesthood, Ashley Marie Laneri

Theses and Dissertations

The Power of Motherhood: Leah Widtsoe's Writings on Women's Roles, Influence, and the Priesthood Ashley Marie Laneri Department of Religious Education, BYU Master of ArtsThis thesis analyzes Leah Widtsoe's writings in the 1930s. Her primary emphasis was on motherhood. Widtsoe encouraged women to realize the importance of their role as mothers and the positive results a good mother can have on generations to come. Each chapter examines how Widtsoe used motherhood to help women understand their role in the Church and their role in society. The first chapter outlines Widtsoe's personal life and analyzes why motherhood was a central part …

Mismatch Negativity Event Related Potential Elicited By Speech Stimuli In Geriatric Patients, Dana Lynn Pierce

Theses and Dissertations

Hearing loss, as a result of old age, has been linked to a decline in speech perception despite the use of additional listening devices. Even though the relationship between hearing loss and decreased speech perception has been well established, research in this area has often focused on the behavioral aspects of language and not on the functionality of the brain itself. In the present study, the mismatch negativity, an event related potential, was examined in order to determine the differences in speech perception between young adult participants, geriatric normal hearing participants, and geriatric hearing-impaired participants. It was hypothesized that a …

Computational Neuroscience, Arnold Gashi

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding how the brain works is a challenge that is attracting a number of scientists from many disciplines. This thesis is a study, to understand some of the models that explain the procedure how the brain works. By understanding computational models of the brain, we as programmers can create simulated programs that try to mimic brain behavior, and using them in many divisions of technology. CNS is very wide field and has so many things to cover this thesis will cover the basic construction of the brain, from neurons, as the principle cell of nervous system, to understand their complex …

Characterizing The Function Of Pas Kinase In Cellular Metabolism And Neurodegenerative Disease, Jenny Adele Pape

Theses and Dissertations

The second identified substrate of PAS kinase discussed is Pbp1. The human homolog of Pbp1 is ataxin-2, mutations in which are a known risk factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). As diet and sex have been shown to be important factors regarding PAS kinase function, they also are strong contributing factors to ALS and are extensively reviewed herein. Pbp1 is known to be sequestered by PAS kinase under glucose depravation, and it can sequester additional proteins along with it to regulate different cellular pathways. To shed light on the pathways affected by Pbp1, we performed a yeast two-hybrid assay and …

Aesthetic Perception Of Urban Spaces: New York, Timur Pozhidaev

Theses and Dissertations

Aesthetic perception is an important field of interest in many aspects of everyday human life. It affects individual and social unconscious behavior and is strongly related to the decision-making processes in the human mind. The current study can serve as an important prototype for planning purposes and social and environmental justice among the regional units of New York City. With the current scientific sphere lacking a comprehensive methodology for assessing social superstructure, an aesthetic framework has the potential for success in evaluating the aspects of sustainable and resilient urban development.

Using Eye Tracking To Examine Working Memory And Verbal Feature Processing In Spanish, Erik William Arnold

Theses and Dissertations

Second language acquisition (SLA) has been a dominant field in linguistics research over the past several decades. In this field, researchers have investigated what makes learning the grammar of a second language difficult and they have identified many factors that may contribute to this difficulty, including agreement processing. In linguistic terms, agreement refers to the necessary covariation of grammatical features between two of more syntactic constituents. In prior years of agreement processing research, some authors examined how native speakers process varying grammatical features (e.g. number and gender) in agreement relations. In recent years, however, they have turned towards L2 learners …

An Evaluation Of The Medicinal Plants Of Andros Island, Bahamas, Vivian Pedrozo

Theses and Dissertations

The earliest civilizations have been using plants as their foundation for healing and medicinal traditions for thousands of years. The use of plant medicinals, more commonly known as “bush medicine” on Andros Island, has been rapidly decreasing due an increased presence of western medicine and increased population pressures from urbanization that are threatening local biodiversity hotspots. Ethnobotany is not only important from a conservation standpoint but is also used to preserve traditional knowledge of herbal medicinals and applications, the people of Andros continue to rely on bush medicine, mainly in the form of teas to help manage health related problems. …

A Metagenomic Approach To Understand Stand Failure In Bromus Tectorum, Nathan Joseph Ricks

Theses and Dissertations

Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass) is an invasive annual grass that has colonized large portions of the Intermountain west. Cheatgrass stand failures have been observed throughout the invaded region, the cause of which may be related to the presence of several species of pathogenic fungi in the soil or surface litter. In this study, metagenomics was used to better understand and compare the fungal communities between sites that have and have not experienced stand failure. Samples were taken from the soil and surface litter in Winnemucca, Nevada and Skull Valley, Utah. Results show distinct fungal communities between Winnemucca and Skull Valley, as …

Multi-Human Management Of A Hub-Based Colony: Efficiency And Robustness In The Cooperative Best M-Of-N Task, John Rolfes Grosh

Theses and Dissertations

Swarm robotics is an emerging field that is expected to provide robust solutions to spatially distributed problems. Human operators will often be required to guide a swarm in the fulfillment of a mission. Occasionally, large tasks may require multiple spatial swarms to cooperate in their completion. We hypothesize that when latency, bandwidth, operator dropout, and communication noise are significant factors, human organizations that promote individual initiative perform more effectively and resiliently than hierarchies in the cooperative best-m-of-n task. Simulations automating the behavior of hub-based swarm robotic agents and groups of human operators are used to evaluate this hypothesis. To make …

The New Face Of Business: Comparing Male And Female Gender Stereotypes In Multi-Level Marketing Facebook Posts In India, Hannah Elizabeth Chudleigh

Theses and Dissertations

India's huge financial power and recent economic expansion have been supported by multi-level marketing (MLM) initiatives over the last decade. This type of business structure is notorious for having shady ethics and for enforcing traditional stereotypes, and as MLMs enter the Indian market, they find themselves navigating even more gender and race-based stereotypes. In India-a country where women have one of the lowest labor participation rates in the world and where advertisements have historically portrayed women as submissive-multi-level marketing companies' posts on social media can have large influences on how the public sees gender roles in business. To better understand …

Sexual Violence Prevention Education For Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities: The Social Validity And Effect Of Disability Impact On Parent Perception, Katherine Mizue Willden

Theses and Dissertations

Children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities are sexually abused or assaulted at a rate seven times greater than those without disabilities (Shapiro, 2018). There is a lack of education and prevention programs specifically for this vulnerable population. The purpose of this study was to explore parental perceptions about the need for sexual violence prevention education, based on their child's disability type, severity, and communication level. A 33-item online survey was completed by parents of children with intellectual disabilities (n=61). The majority of parents valued the social validity of providing sexual violence prevention education. A child's disability type did not impact …

Frequency Response And Recovery Of Muscles And Effects Of Wrapping The Lower Leg On Surface Velocity Measurements, Cameron David Smallwood

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is comprised of two studies. The objective of the first study was to find the frequency response and stiffness of the biceps brachii muscle group during recovery from exercise induced damage and to determine whether these data could be used to track muscle recovery by correlating changes in the frequency response with changes in muscle stiffness. Stiffness moduli were collected using Shear Wave Elastography (SWE) which were then applied to a proportional first mode frequency analysis. Data were collected for the muscle stiffness and frequency response for fifteen subjects (25.6 +- 4.5). By comparing the proportion of the …

Assessment Of Needs And Barriers To Sex And Gender Education Among Social Workers In Egypt, Germeen Riad

Theses and Dissertations

Despite governmental and legislative efforts (Hassanin, 2008), societal tolerance of sexual and gender-based violence is widespread in Egypt, even among health professionals (Rasheed, 2011). Moreover, there is a lack of understanding and misconceptions regarding human sexuality. Such misconceptions often lead to harmful practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting, childhood marriage, and child sexual abuse (WHO, 2010). Child protection social workers must be equipped to deal with children who have been victims of such practices and must be able to provide the sex education that is necessary for its prevention. A survey of 86 child protection social workers and eleven in-depth …

Indigenous Knowledge: A Route To The Infusion Of Sustainable Development In Education., Ekbal Mohammed Mokhles

Theses and Dissertations

Indigenous knowledge is the unique knowledge confined to a particular community, produced in order to cope with agro-ecological and socio-economic environments. The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of some educators around the issue of infusing indigenous knowledge embedded in communities such as Nubia in their school curricula similar to what other models in indigenous communities in countries such as Hawaii, Brazil and Australia did to reform their curricula. The research is based on the assumption that a culture- and place-based learning in Nubia can promote the infusion of indigenous knowledge. Foucault's theory of power and knowledge …

Curbing The Practices Of Research Misconduct: A Qualitative Study On The Perceptions Of Researchers At Egyptian Public Institutions, Passant Elwy Moustafa

Theses and Dissertations

Many Egyptian public academic and research institutions are facing challenges due to the rise of the practices research misconduct. These practices are data fabrication, data falsification and plagiarism. In moderately or poorly developed nations, there is a dearth of information about research misconduct. Fabrication, falsification and plagiarism are threatening the integrity of scientific research as they have become part of the research culture. Based on that, the main objectives of this study are to determine the intertwined risk factors that contribute to the occurrence of research misconduct in Egypt, and in turn, examine the perceptions and attitude of Egyptian researchers …

The Strategic Use Of Blockchain And Information Technology In Financial Inclusion And Sectors, Mona Khalil El-Begawi

Theses and Dissertations

Information Technology, and more specifically Blockchain, has taken over many industries, changing their fundamentals in order to increase productivity and efficiency. The world is now moving into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which merges the tangible and intangible world in ways previously not known to man, such as biotechnology and other disruptive technologies. Changes happening nowadays have affected the requirements for labor and their productivity, profitability of data in general, and the strategic use of Blockchain and Information Technology (IT); meanwhile, there are fears that occur from simple changes. This paper aims to understand the literature revolving the strategic use of …

A Proposed Assessment Scheme For Smart Sustainable Urban Development, Ilham Abdelfattah Elfiky

Theses and Dissertations

The twenty-first century belongs to the cities. For the first time in history, more than 50% of the world's population now lives in a city and the urban population is expected to double by 2050. The opportunities created by new technologies challenge the way in which we conceive our cities, how we plan, design and construct them and how we will live in them. The current large gap between smart city and sustainable city frameworks implies that there is a need for developing their frameworks further or re-defining the smart sustainable city concept, which is relatively new and can be …

Assessing Deep-Water Culture And Sand-Bed Aquaponics Systems For Lettuce (Lactuca Sativa) Yield And Water Consumption, Lobna Salem

Theses and Dissertations

Agriculture and aquaculture play an important role in food security and water withdrawals. Agriculture and aquaculture contribute to over 70% of global water consumption. Aquaponics provides a solution for both sectors to reduce the combined water consumption and pollution and increase food production. The goal of the present study was to assess two aquaponics systems Deep-Water Culture (DWC) and Sand-Bed lettuce (Lactuca sativa variety capitata Type Batavia) production and water consumption. Each system contained a fish tank, plant bed, collection bed, three replicates per system and a mechanical filter; whereas, DWC contained an additional biological filter after the mechanical filter. …

Women In Post Revolutionary Egyptian Cinema: Female Centered Film Plots (2011-2018), May M.Kamal

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the portrayal of women in post revolutionary Egyptian female centered film plots. Following the increase in the social status of women in Egypt as evidenced in the number of women involved in the governmental decision making positions such as the higher participation of women in the Parliament and at ministerial levels. This study explores the representation of women in contemporary Egyptian film. From the literature review, prominent features of female character existing within patriarchal film culture were identified. These characteristics of male dominated female representation include but are not limited to, the representation of women as social …

Egyptian Media Policies To Protect Minors From Harmful Content And Promote Positive Media Use, Nour Hussien Abu-Seada

Theses and Dissertations

Children are by far the most important asset for the future of any nation. Hence, any investment in them will not only reflect positively or negatively on their homeland and society, but maybe even the whole world. With the understanding that early childhood is an extremely important and critical stage for mental, physical and psychological development, it is highly important to constantly provide a healthy environment for young children in order to nourish those seeds that will harvest the future. Media is on the forefront means influencing peoples lives nowadays, some even consider it a source of information. Children, being …

Predictions And Computational Analysis Of Novel Chromosomal Type Ii Toxin Antitoxin Systems In The Human Oral Microbiome, Ashraf Abd-El-Raouf Bazan

Theses and Dissertations

The importance of the human oral microbiome is progressively receiving considerable attention in recent research, serving as a model niche for studying microevolution. The impact of horizontal gene transfer by mobile genetic elements in such environment is the driving force for the mosaic nature of the oral microbiome. However, there is a missing link between the molecular systems interactions responsible for the plasticity of the genomes and the adaptations of the oral microbiome to physiological and pathological changes. The mobile chromosomal type II Toxin Antitoxin Systems (TASs). are known for their effective role in dynamic environment adaptation and stress response. …

Turmeric/ Oregano Extracts As Wound Healing Agents In A Diabetic Animal Model, Diana Guirguis Sami

Theses and Dissertations

Diabetic wound infections and pressure ulcers pose a significant challenge to healthcare providers worldwide. With an increased incidence of chronic skin ulcers and a significant financial impact on healthcare systems, reaching $25 billion annually, new methods to treat chronic and diabetic ulcers are in great need. The current study provides new and innovative wound care products that reduce inflammation, clear infection and improve healing time in an animal model of pressure and diabetic ulcers. Animal model with excisional wound & pressure ulcer was done on the dorsal side of the rats in diabetic and non-diabetic groups. Our results showed that …

Defensiveness In Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (Mmpi-2-Rf) Scores Of Physically Abusive Parents, Julia Meehan Moroney

Theses and Dissertations

There is a paucity of research on the personality test profiles of physically abusive parents. Given that personality assessment is typically a major component of dependency evaluations, the lack of studies in this area represents a significant gap in understanding personality-based factors contributing to physical abuse perpetration. Considering research findings of high levels of defensiveness found in profiles of parents undergoing child custody evaluations, it is reasonable to expect the same for parents involved in substantiated cases of child physical abuse. The current research was designed to examine the level of defensiveness in Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) profiles …

Bioprinting Of 3d Perfusable Structures Using An Extrusion-Based System, Prabhuti Kharel

Theses and Dissertations

Bioprinting is a technique of creating 3D cell laden structures by accurately dispensing biomaterial to form complex synthetic tissue. Bioprinting is a process of additive manufacturing where the cell functionality and viability is preserved within the printed structure. Bioprinting is a promising alternative to produce physiologically relevant 3D structures that mimic the native tissue. However, fabrication of complex structures with vascularization has been a major challenge in bioprinting. To overcome this challenge sacrificial printing in combination with fugitive inks has been explored to create vascularize structures. The objective of this study is to fabricate hollow channels within the bioprinted structure …