Digital Commons Network^™

Modeling The Effects Of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals On Atlantic Croaker: Understanding Biomarkers And Predicting Population Responses, Cheryl Anne Murphy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A number of environmental stressors have been shown to interfere with reproductive and behavioral processes of fish by interfering with endocrine function. Most biomarkers of endocrine disturbance tend to be static measurements from dynamic systems making them difficult to evaluate within the context of an individual, or subtle effects that do not relate well to endpoints of ecological significance. I present an approach that uses a series of models, based on Atlantic croaker, to extrapolate laboratory results to indicators of individual and population health. First, I created a physiologically based model that simulates vitellogenesis in a female fish. The model …

Loading And Recovery Behavior Of The Human Lumbar Spine Under Static Flexion, Guntulu Selen Hatipkarasulu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Musculoskeletal disorders account for 32 percent of work related injuries and illnesses. Extensive studies have been conducted to understand and explore the factors that affect the development of musculoskeletal disorders to provide effective control strategies. One of the most important factors that allow effective control strategies is the biomechanical factors. Among the biomechanical risk factors, exposures to repetitive static and vibratory activities are known to result in musculoskeletal disorders. A ligamento–muscular reflex activity exists in humans and animals to stabilize the knee, shoulder, elbow, ankle joints, and spine. This reflex activity decreases over time when static loading is applied, which …

Green Theatre: Proto-Environmental Drama And The Performance Of Ecological Values In Contemporary Western Theatre, Kurt Gerard Heinlein

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of this study is to illustrate the purpose and potential of theatre that promotes a proto-environmental agenda, or Green Theatre, in re-orienting Western behavior and mores in a direction that creates positive socio-environmental change. In correlation, this dissertation will examine the objectives and performance modes of several educational and professional theatre entities that house a distinctly unique Green agenda. The primary performances featured will include Peter Schumann’s Bread and Puppet Theatre, Blue Man Group’s Tubes, performances by Koko the signing lowland gorilla, and Playmakers of Baton Rouge’s production of Habitat Cats.

Self-Efficacy And Adult Development, Daniel Cervone, Daniele Artistico, Jane M. Berry

Psychology Faculty Publications

A major theme in the contemporary study of human development across the life span is that people have the capacity for personal agency. Innumerable writers emphasize that individuals can exert intentional influence over their experiences and actions, the circumstances they encounter, the skills they acquire, and thus ultimately the course of their development.

Creatine Protects Against Human Immunodeficiency Virus Protein Tat-Induced Neurotoxicity Through Mitochondial [Sic] Mechanisms, Patrick Stevens

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Law's Quandary: An Echo Of The Infinite, A Glimpse Of The Unfathomable , William Joseph Wagner

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Our Places To Tell Stories: Making Connections With Our Audiences, Public Lands Institute

Our Places to Tell Stories

The idea for an annual Our Places Tell Stories conference was prompted by discussions that took place within a unique partnership of federal, state, university, and public organizations in southern Nevada. Members identified the need to share and learn from successful educational and interpretive strategies. Our increasingly urban surroundings and rapidly changing populations hinder personal connections between people and their natural environment. However, the right tools and techniques will help us inspire children and adults to understand, value, and take care of our shared natural places.

This first conference supports professionals in creating and evaluating effective educational programs and interpretive …

Oliver Ranch Science School Complex & Wild Horse And Burro Facility: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending March 31, 2006, Margaret N. Rees

Oliver Ranch Project

Executive Summary

Activity highlights during the third quarter of Year Two include the following actions toward task agreement deliverables:

• Agenda and minutes prepared and distributed for Core Group meetings on January 17 and March 21, 2006.
• Cultural curriculum 100% completed
• Night Sky curriculum 100% completed.
• Green Building curriculum 75% completed.
• Native American Correlations 75% completed.
• Teacher piloting workshops held on February 23, March 18, and March 25, 2006 at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park and the Oliver Ranch site.
• RRDLC newsletter completed.
• Website content, navigation, and graphics updated and improved.

Red Rock Desert Learning Center Community Outreach Activities Plan, Red Rock Desert Learning Center

Oliver Ranch Project

The Red Rock Desert Learning Center is being designed to teach participants about the natural world through inquiry-based experiential and interdisciplinary methods in a residential outdoor setting in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The intent is for students, teachers, and researchers to gain an appreciation of desert ecosystems and to begin to apply and connect their knowledge to world ecological systems. The campus will incorporate many “green building” systems in its design and operation, and those systems will be an active part of the school’s curriculum.

Red Rock Desert Learning Center & Wild Horse And Burro Facility: Fact Sheet, Red Rock Desert Learning Center

Oliver Ranch Project

Overview and questions about Red Rock Canyon Desert Learning Center and Wild Horse and Burro Facility.

Red Rock Desert Learning Center & Wild Horse And Burro Facility: Frequently Asked Questions, Red Rock Desert Learning Center

Oliver Ranch Project

The mission of the Red Rock Desert Learning Center is to instill stewardship and respect by increasing knowledge and understanding of the Mojave Desert ecosystems and cultures through a unique experiential discovery program.

Red Rock Desert Learning Center & Wild Horse And Burro Facility: Newsletter, Red Rock Desert Learning Center

Oliver Ranch Project

The mission of the Red Rock Desert Learning Center is to instill stewardship and respect by increasing knowledge and understanding of the Mojave Desert ecosystems
and cultures through a unique experiential discovery program.

Explorations In Off-Higway Vehicle (Ohv) Recreation: A High School Driver Education Extension, Allison Brody, Jennell M. Miller, Sky Mcclain, Katharine August

Education about the Environment

The lessons within this curriculum have been designed to meet the following goals:

● To increase knowledge about the natural world OHV recreationists will encounter in their exploration of Southern Nevada;

● To increase knowledge of responsible use of OHVs and principles of Tread Lightly! and Leave No Trace (both are nonprofit organizations dedicated to increasing awareness about how to minimize impacts while enjoying public and private lands);

● To increase awareness, knowledge, and understanding of land ethics;

● To allow youth to analyze personal values regarding recreational experiences, including OHV use.

Canopy-Tree Influences Along A Soil Parent Material Gradient In Pinus-Ponderosa-Quercus Gambelii Forests, Northern Arizona, Scott R. Abella, Judith D. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

ABELLA, S. R. (Public Lands Institute and School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-2040) AND J. D. SPRINGER (Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5017). Canopy-tree influences along a soil parent material gradient in Pinus ponderosa- Quercus gambelii forests, northern Arizona. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 135: 26–36. 2008.—The distribution of canopy trees can impose within-site patterns of soil properties and understory plant composition. At ten sites spanning a soil parent material gradient in northern Arizona Pinus ponderosa-Quercus gambelii forests, we compared soils and plant composition among five canopy types: openings, Pinus ponderosa …

Nonprofits And Philanthropy In Nevada, Jessica Word

Social Health of Nevada Reports

Nevada is a study in contrasts: the rural North and the urban jungle of Las Vegas, the wealth of millionaires gambling in high end casinos contrasting with the plight of those struggling to make ends meet, the beauty and majesty of the Nevada landscape versus the over-the-top sparkle of neon on the “Strip.” Deep contrasts for which Nevada is famous permeate its nonprofit sector. While it is growing rapidly and achieving tangible results, this sector faces serious problems that threaten to undermine the quality of life in the Silver State. Nevada urgently needs to augment its nonprofit sector resources, streamline …

Art And Cultural Participation In Nevada, Robert Tracy

Social Health of Nevada Reports

On October 31, 1864 the Nevada Territory entered the Union as the 36 th state. Because this official designation or recognition took place during the height of the American Civil War, it seemed appropriate to officials that the state motto “Battle Born” be adopted. Over the years the area of land known as Nevada has been called by such interesting and divergent names as Sierra Nevada Territory; Washoe Territory; Carson Territory; Eastern Slope Territory; Humboldt Territory; Esmeralda Territory; Sierra Plata Territory; Oro Plata; and Bullion. Shortly after becoming a state, Nevada adopted two nicknames: the Silver State and …

Conclusion: Social Capital And The Quality Of Life In Nevada, Craig Walton

Social Health of Nevada Reports

Our contributors have presented data and analyses which bring up questions Nevadans need to raise when they talk about the kind of home we want Nevada to be. We must take seriously their findings, their recommendations, and their pleas for help. These social indicators must be re-visited periodically. We make a beginning today, but we need to sustain public discussion of these problems of poor social capital in our home town and home state. Aristotle mentioned that a large number of people in one place does not make a community – practices, customs, institutions, and a shared moral culture change …

Ethics In Government At The Local Level, Vincent R. Johnson

Seton Hall Law Review

No abstract provided.

Problem Gambling And Treatment In Nevada, Bo Bernhard

Social Health of Nevada Reports

For many years, it was moral experts, rather than medical and academic ones, who told us who gambled “too much.” Speaking from pulpits rather than podiums, church leaders informed us that gambling was uniquely subversive of the American way of life, for its something-for-nothing promise threatened to undermine the popular ethic of honest toil and gradual accumulation of goods. Samuel Hopkins, in an 1835 sermon on “The Evils of Gambling,” captured this sensibility: “Let the gambler know that he is watched, and marked; and that . . . he is loathed. Let the man who dares to furnish a resort …

Environment And The Quality Of Life In Nevada, Robert Futrell

Social Health of Nevada Reports

When the first environmental decade was launched in the U.S. more than thirty years ago with the inaugural Earth Day, protecting our air, water, land and other natural resources seemed a relatively simple task. Environmental polluters and exploiters would be brought to heel by tough laws. The U.S. and other industrialized nations responded to quality of life concerns associated with the degradation of the natural environment by adopting dozens of major environmental and resource policies and creating new institutions such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to manage environmental programs. With a sense of urgency Congress passed the Clean Air …

A Gold-Colored Background (English With Czech Accent), Mandy Alyse Kalish

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

As part of the degree requirement for an MFA in Creative Writing I am submitting an unpublished, original novel as my thesis. The novel is a first-person narrative of a woman from the Czech Republic. As the story develops, Data, the main character, comes to Las Vegas with her husband. The two eventually win a large jackpot, at which point the husband dies of heart failure and Zlata inherits all of the winnings. She stays in Las Vegas and eventually teams up with a tiny busboy to design and open her own hotel/casino on the strip. This novel is meant …

An Evaluation Of Small Mammal Populations In The Las Vegas Wash, Jessica Larkin

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Capture frequency, diversity, richness, and population estimates of small mammals was measured in three distinct habitat types (Creosote, Saltbush, Tamarisk) in the Las Vegas Wash. For each habitat, the population estimates were analyzed by species. Capture frequency, diversity, richness, and population estimates were compared to ambient air temperature for twelve consecutive months. Fluctuations in small mammal populations appear to be greatly dependent on temperature. Neotoma lepida and Peromyscus eremicus appear to be dependent on Tamarisk communities; whereas, Chaetodipus spp. appears to be very adaptable and was captured in all habitats. Dipodomys merriami and Perognathus longimembris had the highest population estimates …

The Social Implications Of The Architecture At Ppnb Ghwair I, Ramzy Ladah

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Investigations at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) Village of Ghwair I in the Wadi Feinan in Southern Jordan have yielded important information concerning the development of social structure during the early Neolithic. The architecture at the site becomes more complex throughout occupation exhibiting more compartmentalization along with the emergence of certain special structures. This along with the location of certain key artifacts and an infant burial in association with the architecture all indicate that the social structure became more complex throughout PPNB occupation. This further corroborates the association between sedentism, domestication, demographic changes and an increase in social complexity.

Cognitive And Affective Correlates Of Reproductive Hormones, Chandler Marrs

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Approximately 80% of all women experience considerable mood lability in the days and weeks following parturition. Many researchers have attempted and failed to link postpartal mood changes to reproductive hormones and very little research examines perinatal cognitive ability. The goal of this research was to elucidate the pattern of cognitive and affective behaviors associated with the elevated hormones of pregnancy and the diminished hormones following parturition. The present study compared salivary progesterone, dehydroxyepiandrosterone (DHEAS), estrone, estradiol, estriol and testosterone with the results from a battery of neuropsychiatric assessments administered to thirty-two healthy, primigravid women at 37 weeks of pregnancy and …

Vigilante Justice And Civic Development In 1850s San Francisco, Nancy S Papin

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The years between the American Revolution and the Civil War witnessed the prevalence of public disorder and social violence, especially in the expanding American West. In many instances, crowds took the law into their own hands and dealt summary vengeance on suspected criminals. This study delves into the political and legal climate of San Francisco in the 1850s to examine perhaps the most famous episodes of vigilantism in antebellum America; the San Francisco Vigilante Committees of 1851 and 1856. Through a careful contextualization and comparison of these committees, the thesis argues that the leaders of the respective committees believed that …

Missing And Abducted Children: A Critical Analysis Of The Amber Alert System, Michael John Smoll

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Originally created from the reaction of a child abducted and murdered by a stranger, the AMBER alert system has since been utilized for a wide variety of child abduction episodes. The AMBER alert system has the potential to provide millions of citizens with descriptive information about a missing or abducted child in the hopes that the child can be successfully recovered by utilizing a wide array of communication mediums. This current study examined a sample of AMBER alerts issued in twelve states during the year 2005. Among the key findings include the fact that the vast majority of AMBER alerts …

Low-Intensity Exercise, Vascular Occlusion, And Muscular Adaptations, Masaru Teramoto

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The study investigated the effects of low-intensity exercise on muscular fitness when combined with vascular occlusion. Male (n = 8) and female (n = 11) college students performed two sets of a 5-min step exercise using a 12-inch bench 3 times/week for a total of 5 weeks. During the step exercise, blood flow to one leg was partially restricted (vascular occlusion) with a blood pressure cuff placed around the thigh, while the other leg was not occluded. Parameters of muscular fitness were not affected by vascular occlusion. Muscular strength and endurance of both occluded and non-occluded legs were increased after …

Loose Slots: Imaginations Of The American Demos, Jessica Frances Thomas

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Millions of Americans are subject to television programs about Las Vegas through shows such as CSI and Las Vegas, but there is little fictionalized writing done about this city, and only a small percentage of that takes place off the Strip. Since the publication of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas , there has yet to another pop literary examination of Las Vegas as a cultural contributor to the American experience. Partially because of the fluid nature of the city, its ability to shape-shift within a decade, and partially because it is so difficult to avoid the …

Donning The White Agbada, Abayomi Animashaun

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

No poet, Eliot says, makes art alone by himself; he works with the collection of the dead and living poets around him. It is with this in mind that I have put together this poetry collection, Donning the White Agbada, in honor of William Stafford. Although the collection is dedicated to Mr. Stafford, it is not limited to him; it draws freely and extensively from different writers, different materials, and different periods---from the Christian Bible, to Robert Frost, to Sophocles, to Nigerian History, and to Yoruba mythology, among others. So that what is created (in my ongoing exploration of Western …

Lead Contamination In Candies Imported From Latin America, Heather R Fels

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The problem of lead in candies imported from Latin America is an important health disparities issue as it particularly affects the health of children living in Latino Diasporas in the United States. Our research team at the University of Nevada Las Vegas was the first to employ the X-ray florescence (XRF) machine in the screening of candies for lead. The XRF is a novel instrument that can quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively test for lead contamination. Once contaminated candies were identified, an exhaustive review of applicable laws and polices that can be utilized in the regulation of imported toxic candies was …