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Testing The River Continuum Concept: Exploring Ecological Processes In The Wheeling Creek Watershed., Deborah Ann Carpenter

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The river continuum concept (RCC) asserts that the biological community in a stream system is largely regulated by geomorphological factors (Vannote, et al., 1980, 131). The concept states that community structure in natural stream systems is structured in order to capitalize on the most efficient energy utilization throughout. The objective of this research is to test the RCC in the Wheeling Creek watershed of northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania and to compare the results with those hypothesized under the RCC. One of the strongest criticisms of the RCC is that the continuum assumes an undisturbed stream system. Anomalies found …

Growth And Physiological Responses Of Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, To Elevated Carbon Dioxide: Chronic And Acute Challenges., Melody Louisea Mae Danley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

West Virginia aquaculture is an expanding industry currently characterized by smallscale, widely dispersed farms. In 2000, state sales of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss reached US$611,000. To facilitate future expansion with a focus on product quality as well as production efficiency, identification of limiting factors and new or alternative management techniques are needed. Objectives of this three-month study were to identify how carbon dioxide, a common water quality problem in the region, affects the growth and physiological stress responses of intensively cultured rainbow trout. Growth (weight, specific growth rate, thermal growth coefficient, and condition factor) and physiological stress responses (hematocrit, plasma …

Lifestyle Management: The Effects Of An Intensive Lifestyle Management Course On Behavioral, Psychological, Physiological, And Psycho-Behavioral Factors., Jeffrey Scott Pauline

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an intensive one-week Lifestyle Management course on behavioral, psychological, physiological, and psycho-behavioral factors. The current study contained forty-five participants (N = 45) which included twenty-four individuals enrolled in the Lifestyle Management course (experimental group) and twenty-one matched individuals (control group). The experimental group experienced high-level wellness in the intensive one-week course of Lifestyle Management. The control group did not participate in the Lifestyle Management course or any other wellness course prior to the study. The experimental and control groups were evaluated at three time points: prior to entering the …

Effects Of A High Salt Diet On The Microcirculation In Normotensive Rats: The Role Of Reactive Oxygen Species., Deborah M. Lenda

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In normotensive rats fed high salt, arteriolar responsiveness to endothelium-dependent dilators is reduced due to suppression of local nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. In the first study we evaluated the possibility that an increase in microvascular reactive oxygen species (ROS) may account for this decrease in NO activity. Arcade arterioles in the spinotrapezius muscle of Sprague-Dawley rats fed either a low (0.45%, LS) or high (7%, HS) salt diet for 4–5 weeks were examined. Arteriolar responses to acetylcholine (ACh) were significantly reduced in the HS rats but could be returned to normal in the presence of the ROS scavengers superoxide dismutase …

Food Security And Coping Mechanisms In Kenya's Marginal Areas: The Case Of West Pokot., Anne Kisaka Nangulu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study analyzes food security and coping mechanisms in semi-arid West Pokot between 1920–1995. Based on a wide array of primary and secondary sources, the study analyzes the historical role of indigenous irrigation, specifically furrow irrigation, rain-fed farming and livestock keeping, in food production and food security among the Pokot of northwest Kenya. Besides farming and herding, the study also analyzes trade, hunting and gathering, as well as lending and borrowing (for example of food) based on reciprocity, and their contribution to food security in the area. In the colonial and post-colonial West Pokot, income from wage labor and mining …

Creating And Supporting The Proxy-Decider: The Lawyer-Proxy Relationship, Nancy N. Dubler

Georgia Law Review

Advance directives have been identified as the "quick fix" of bioethics. The logic goes something like this: If we could only get patients to tell us, in advance of disability, the specifics of the health care they would want to receive in the future, we could put our ethical and legal qualms aside and march ahead with care that we know is patient appropriate and legally protected. If we could only get the patient to commit, we could proceed with moral certainty and risk assurance. If we could only be given explicit instructions, we could act accordingly and be comfortable …

The Role Of Accessory Proteins In Controlling The Thyroid Hormone Regulation Of Transcription Of The Malic Enzyme Gene., Yutong Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Triiodothyronine (T3) stimulates a 70-fold or greater increase in transcription of the malic enzyme gene in chick embryo hepatocytes. Previous work has shown that the effects of T3 on malic enzyme transcription are mediated in large part by sequence elements located within a liver-specific and T3-inducible DNase I hypersensitive region in the 5′-flanking DNA of the malic enzyme gene. Within this DNase I hypersensitive region is a cluster of nuclear T3 receptor (TR) binding sites that together constitute a T3 response unit (TAU). Flanking the T3RU are accessory elements that enhance T3 regulation conferred by the T3RU in chick embryo …

An Investigation Of Teachers' Temperament And Students' Perceptions Of Teachers: Communication Behavior And Students' Attitudes Toward Teachers., Kristin Marie Valencic

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study examined relationships among the way teachers communicate in the classroom, teachers temperaments, and perceptions of teachers by students. Specifically, the first goal was to determine to what extent a teacher's levels of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism can predict students perceptions of task attraction, immediacy, assertiveness, responsiveness, and credibility. The second goal was to determine the relationships between teacher temperament and teacher evaluations, affective learning, and cognitive learning. Self-report surveys of 52 teachers and 1242 students across seven disciplines at West Virginia University were collected. Instructors received measures of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism. Teachers were asked to rate themselves …

Future Marine Zooplankton Research- A Perspective, Marine Zooplankton Colloquim 2, Eileen E. Hofmann, John M. Klinck

CCPO Publications

During the Second Marine Zooplankton Colloquium (MZC2) 3 issues were added to those developed 11 yr ago during the First Marine Zooplankton Colloquium (MZC1). First, we focused on hot spots, i.e., locations where zooplankton occur in higher than regular abundance and/or operate at higher rates. We should be able to determine the processes leading to such aggregations and rates, and quantify their persistence. Second, information on the level of individual species, even of highly abundant ones, is limited. Concerted efforts should be undertaken with highly abundant to dominant species or genera (e.g., Oithona spp., Calanus spp., Oikopleura spp., Euphausia superba …

Reducing Disciplinary Referrals And Academic Failure Rate Of Seventh- And Eighth-Grade Students, Melad Smith Jr.

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This practicum addressed the excessive disciplinary referrals and the academic failure rate of 7th- and 8th-grade students of Charlton County High School in Folkston, Georgia. The data collected during the 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 school years served as the basis of this practicum. During the 1998-1999 school year, the 7th and 8th grades accounted for 46. 9% of all high school referrals, and an alarming 23. 5% of total students in 7th and 8th grade failed academic courses in social studies, math, science, and English. During the 1999-2000 school year, a preliminary investigation was implemented to curtail the academic and discipline …

The Validation Of A Detailed Strategic Planning Process Model For The Implementation Of Distance Education In Higher Education, Kenneth Phillip Pisel Jr.

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to develop, refine, and validate a model of the strategic planning process for distance education. To achieve this end, the informed opinion from a population of peer-nominated experts was solicited over three rounds of iterative Delphi questionnaires administered via electronic mail. Using descriptive statistics to analyze central tendency and variation, the straw model was refined into a validated model by the final Delphi round. In developing this model, the study answered specific questions about the following: (1) The impact of volatile technological change on a strategic distance education plan. (2) The optimum size and …

Rulemaking, Michael Herz

Articles

No abstract provided.

Perceived Knowledge Of Heart Failure And Adherence To Self-Care Recommendations, Cheryl Lynn Van Ess

Masters Theses

During the last decade, research has indicated that patient education is an essential component in the comprehensive management of heart failure. However, few data are available that evaluate how effective that education is and the relationship between knowledge and self-care adherence. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between patients’ perceived knowledge of heart failure and their reported self-care adherence with diet, exercise, and medication in the management of their chronic disease. Orem’s self-care theory provided the framework for this study.

This study was a secondary analysis of the baseline data collected from a self-reporting questionnaire …

Relationship Of Perceived Self-Efficacy Of Disease Management And Hospital Utilization Among Patients With Heart Failure, Linda K. English

Masters Theses

This secondary analysis examined the relationship between perceived self-efficacy of disease management and hospital admissions for heart failure patients based on Bandura’s social learning theory. A convenience sample of 76 patients who were receiving home care services were visited over the course of several weeks. Data were collected at baseline, 3, and 6 months using the Self-Management Tool adapted from the work of Lorig et al. (1996).

Data indicated a weak negative statistically significant relationship between perceived self-efficacy of disease management and hospital utilization at 3 months (r = -.33, p = .01). In addition, hospital utilization decreased over time, …

The Sexual Assault Exam: A Comparison Of Physical Findings And Legal Outcomes Between An Emergency Department And Free Standing Nurse Examiner Program, Linda L. Rossman

Masters Theses

The study objective was to compare the documentation of physical findings and legal outcomes of women evaluated in an emergency department (ED) and freestanding nurse examiner program (NEP). The study was a retrospective cohort analysis of consecutive female patients presenting after sexual assault to either the ED or to the NEP.

Genital injuries were documented in 19% of the ED group, in 74% of the 1997 NEP group and 77% of the 1998 NEP group. These differences were statistically significant (x²=75.75; df=2; p=.000). In 24% of the ED patients and 21% of the 1997 NEP patients, warrants were …

Knowledge About Stroke In Adults From Rural Communities, Julie Billett

Masters Theses

Fifty middle to low-income adult clients of a rural family care center were surveyed in a descriptive correlational study in order to determine their abilities to identify the signs and symptoms of a stroke and their knowledge of stroke risk. Additionally, Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient was used to ascertain whether the participants’ level of knowledge was related to their actual stroke risk, as identified by the American Heart Association’s Stroke Risk Tool Descriptive analysis of the item responses revealed that the percentage of the sample correctly identifying individual signs and symptoms ranged from 44 to 77%. When actual stroke risk was …

The Significance Of Trust In The Research Consent Process With African Americans, Catherine E. Earl, Pamela J. Penney

Peer Reviewed Articles

Nurses and other health scientists face serious challenges in recruiting African Americans as research participants. The trend in published research shows a declining representation of African Americans in study groups, particularly in nursing and clinical trial research (Mouton, Harris, Rovi, Solorzano, & Johnson, l997; Shavers-Hornaday, Lynch, Burmeister, & Torner, l997; Plowden &Wenger, 2001). Published research involving African Americans has almost disappeared from the literature in major American Psychological Association journals since the l970s; the overall percentage of research studies involving African Americans is a mere 3.6% (Graham, l992).

A review of the literature offers reasons for African American’s lack of …

A Comparison Of The Health Beliefs Of Florence Nightingale And Ellen G. White And The Incorporation Of Them Into Their Respective Schools Of Nursing, Ruth Duncan Abbott

Dissertations

This study explored the similarities and differences of the health beliefs of Ellen G. White and Florence Nightingale and how these beliefs were incorporated into each of their respective schools of nursing, the Nightingale Training School for Nurses at St. Thomas' Hospital and the Medical Missionary Training School for Nurses at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan. The research also examined the contextual factors that shaped each woman's philosophy and influenced the manner in which they carried out their work. Additionally, the research provides information about the historical context surrounding the beginnings of modern nursing, education, health, society, …