Digital Commons Network^™

Comparative Phylogeography Of Four Montane Bird Species In Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, Cheryl Leigh Haines

LSU Master's Theses

Because of a dearth of modern quantitative studies of the ecology and evolution of birds, our understanding of the biogeography of the Bornean avifauna is rudimentary. Although paleogeographic evidence provides a well known mechanism for speciation in the lowlands of Borneo (i.e., repeated colonization and isolation of populations on Sunda islands caused by sea level changes), the process of speciation in montane areas is less easily explained. Knowledge about the processes responsible for montane speciation in Borneo is desirable because mountains clearly have played a key role in the evolution of the island’s avifauna, as evidenced by the relatively large …

The Relation Between Episodic Memory And Artificial Grammar Learning, Thomas Earl Watkins, Iii

LSU Master's Theses

Two artificial grammar learning experiments were conducted to study the acquisition of episodic and grammar knowledge with manipulations designed to enhance one or the other type of knowledge. The first experiment trained subjects to recognize specific exemplars (episodic emphasis) or to identify patterns of family resemblance (semantic focus), and then participants were given both an episodic (specific exemplar recognition) and grammar (valid string identification) test. The episodic emphasis training led to better episodic knowledge and equivalent grammar knowledge. The second experiment investigated the same training types over a longer training period and under presence or absence of interference from different …

The Genealogy Of Morals: Contemporary Empirical Accounts, Franklin Donald Worrell

LSU Master's Theses

In the late twentieth century, moral realists began to resurrect a type of argument that emerged during the Enlightenment. These realists appealed to moral progress as evidence for moral facts, and their arguments took the form of inferences to the best explanation. Recently, the argument style has emerged again. This time, the inference to the best explanation is being used by empirically-informed sentimentalists to argue that their theories can provide accounts of moral evolution that have greater explanatory and predictive power than the accounts offered by the moral realists. This thesis examines the arguments to the best explanation of such …

Denitrification Capacity And Denitrifying Bacteria In A Restored Bottomland Hardwood Forest, Mississippi River Alluvial Valley: Hydrological Impacts, Yan Li

LSU Master's Theses

Mississippi River Alluvial Valley (MAV) is one of the most important ecosystems in the United States, and bottomland hardwood forests (BLHs) are a major components of this ecosystem. The ecological and hydrological functions of BLHs can help maintain the diversity of species, groundwater balance, and nutrient removal etc. However, due to the increased human activities in the area, most of the BLHs were converted to agricultural land. Realizing the seriousness of the situation of the ecosystem, a series of programs have been carried out by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to …

Cell Cycle Analysis Of Atrazine-Treated Human Fibroblast Cells Using Flow Cytometry, Andrea L. Austin

Honors Program Theses

Atrazine is the most frequently used triazine herbicide in the United States. Studies have shown an association between herbicide exposure and increased levels of DNA damage, reproductive and endocrine problems, and an increased risk for certain cancers. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEP A) has set a maximum allowable limit at 3 parts per billion (ppb ). Previous work from our lab has shown decreased cell proliferation of normal human fibroblasts after low-level atrazine exposure for 72 hours at 0.8-100 ppb without a corresponding increase in apoptosis or necrosis.

The objective of the current study is to determine a …

Quartz Grain Surface Textures As Indicators Of Infilling Processes And Depositional Environments Associated With Ice-Wedge Casts In Northeast Iowa, Michael Loux

Honors Program Theses

Ice-wedge casts and polygonal patterned ground are common features of the Iowan Surface of Northeast Iowa. Paleoenvironmental studies in Iowa and adjacent states indicate that tundra conditions existed in Northeast Iowa between 21,000 and 16,500 years BP, the coldest part of late \\'.'isconsinan time. Degradation of permafrost and formation of ice-wedge casts must have occurred near the end of this cold climate episode, which also promoted extreme erosion of the landscape in Northeast Iowa. The sediment-filled wedges in Northeast Iowa occur in pre-Illinoian till with the infilling material consisting mostly of sand. The details of the infilling history of the …

Microbiological Enhancement Of Phosphorus Sequestration In Iron-Enriched Sediments, Lindsay Marie Sandersfeld

Honors Program Theses

An overabundance of phosphorus, primarily due to agricultural run off, is the source of increases in unwanted algae in Iowa's surface waters. Oxidized iron found in mine tailings will sequester phosphorus in sediments and prevent it from entering surface waters. Therefore, adding mine tailings to wetlands is a cheap and easy way to eliminate phosphorus pollution. This phosphorus removal process is enhanced by a microbial component that biochemically solubilizes iron tailings which allows them to efficiently react with free phosphorus in the water. The purpose of this project was to characterize the microbial component in this process. Ferric citrate medium …

Predicting Northern Goshawk Dynamics Using An Individual-Based Spatial Model, Melanie A. Smith

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) is a US Forest Service Region 2 Sensitive Species, requiring the Black Hills National Forest to manage for its viability. Previous studies have suggested that a model integrating goshawk population demographics, habitat availability, and territoriality would have the ability to predict population dynamics including goshawk locations, population size, and population viability. An individual-based spatial model was created for the Black Hills goshawk population. This project focused on evaluating our current understanding of goshawk dynamics, and making individual- and population-level predictions as appropriate following model validation. The model simulated demographics and behavior of individuals and usage …

Assessment Of Potential Agroforestry Systems For Kafuta: A Village In The Western Division Of The Gambia, Justina Marie Toth

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Toth, Justina M. M.S. December 2007 Resource Conservation ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIAL AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS FOR KAFUTA: A VILLAGE IN THE WESTERN DIVISION OF THE GAMBIA Committee Chair: John Goodburn Extensive interviews with a sample of 21 government and non-governmental workers in the natural resource field, as well as random surveys of 18 households (i.e. 18 women and 16 men) in the Western Division village of Kafuta are employed to help inform the following central research question: What agroforestry systems are the most appropriate for the village of Kafuta, given the regions unique physical, biological and socioeconomic conditions? With these two qualitative …

Nad(P)H:Quinone Oxidoreductase (Nqo1)-Directed Lavendamycin Antitumor Agents: Structure-Based Design, Molecular Modeling And Structure-Activity Studies, Mary Hassani

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) is a two-electron reductase that catalyzes an NAD(P)H-dependent activation of many quinone-based antitumor agents. NQO1, expressed at high levels in many human solid tumors, can be used as a target for enzyme-directed bioreductive antitumor drug development. We hypothesized that lavendamycins, quinolinedione antitumor antibiotics, can be activated by NQO1 in cancer cells that overexpress NQO1 to exhibit selective toxicity toward those cells. The effects of functional group changes on the metabolism of lavendamycins by recombinant human NQO1 were studied using a spectrophotometric assay. These structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies determined key structural features that were required for lavendamycin …

Examining The Relationship Of Physical Activity With Inflammation And Cardiovascular Disease Risk, Coral Michelle Gubler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for 37.1 percent of all deaths in the United States. Physical activity is inversely related to both CV event risk and to many of the individual CVD risk factors. The inverse relationship between physical activity and CVD risk is well established. However, much dispute remains about the optimal physical activity intensity and duration related to health benefits and to lower CVD risk. The ability to objectively measure intensity and duration may clarify the inverse relationship between physical activity and CVD. The purpose of this collection of studies was to explore the association of physical activity with …

Three Pictures Of Contract: Duty, Power And Compound Rule, Gregory Klass

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

A fundamental divide among theories of contract law is between those that picture contract as a power and those that picture it as a duty. On the power-conferring picture, contracting is a sort of legislative act, in which persons determine what law will apply to their transaction. On the duty-imposing picture, contract law puts duties on persons entering into agreements for consideration whether they want them or not. Until now, very little attention has been paid to the problem of how to tell whether a given rule is power conferring or duty imposing -- a question that should lie at …

Fisheries Ecology Abstracts

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Abstracts of presentations from the Large Pelagic Fishes Symposium in Belize City, Belize during November 2006.

Pedagogical Agents As Social Models To Influence Learner Attitudes, Yanghee Kim, A. Baylor

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Based on social-cognitive theory, we describe the role of pedagogical agents as “social models.” In several experimental studies we have found that pedagogical agents as social models can effectively persuade and motivate learners. We briefly describe two on-going projects where agents as social models are employed to enhance young women’s motivation and attitudes toward math and engineering.

Text Categorization For Aligning Educational Standards, O. Yilmazel, N. Balasubramanian, S. C. Harwell, J. Bailey, Anne R. Diekama, E. D. Liddy

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Standard alignment (where standards describing similar concepts are correlated) is a necessary task in providing full access to educational resources. Manual alignment is time consuming and expensive. We propose an automatic alignment system, using machine learning techniques utilizing natural language processing. In this paper we discuss our experiments on text categorization for automatic alignment. We explore the role of relevant vocabulary sets in automatic alignment.

Desirable Characteristics Of Learning Companions, Yanghee Kim

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This study investigated the desirable characteristics of anthropomorphized learning-companion agents for college students. First, interviews with six undergraduates explored their concepts of desirable learning companions. The interviews yielded agent competency, agent personality, and interaction control. Next, a controlled experiment examined whether learner competency (strong vs. weak) would relate directly to agent competency (high vs. low) and to interaction control (agent-control vs. learner-control). The dependent measures included learners' perceptions of agent functionality, their self-efficacy beliefs in the task, and their learning. The results indicated that academically strong students perceived the high-competent agent higher than the lowcompetent agent and showed higher self-efficacy …

A Hike Through A Post-Ejb J2ee Web Application Architecture, Part Iii,, Konstantin Laufer, George K. Thiruvathukal, Benjamin Gonzalez

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

By incorporating automated component, integration, and acceptance testing into the various tiers of a lightweight lava 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) Web application architecture, developers can shorten the development cycle and increase the quality of their work.

An Analysis Of Sexual Dimorphism In The Human Face, Ashok Samal, Vanitha Subramani, David B. Marx

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Abstract Human beings can distinguish between a male and a female face without much difficulty. The science of recognizing and differentiating different faces by humans is not completely understood and is still under research. Sexual dimorphism is common in humans and indeed in other species of animals as well. Significant differences between males and females exist in many aspects like size, color, body shapes, and weight. In this research, we characterize and analyze the sexual dimorphism in the human face as a function of age and of face features. Features are grouped into six categories: head, eyes, orbits, nose, lips, …

The Current Status Of Sage-Grouse Management Technology On Private Lands, Terry A. Messmer

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Canadian Assisted Human Reproduction Act: Protecting Women’S Health While Potentially Allowing Human Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Into Non-Human Oocytes, Roxanne Mykitiuk, Jeff Nisker, Robyn Bluhm

Articles & Book Chapters

Caulfield and Bubela (2007) argue that the Canadian Assisted Human Reproduction Act (An Act Respecting Assisted Human Reproduction and Related Research (S.C. 2004, c.2) imposes a complete “criminal ban” on somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) that is unwarranted because, they contend, the ban was based on concerns regarding the moral status of the human embryo, which is inappropriate in a “pluralistic society.”

Trips And Trips Plus Impacts In Africa, Ikechi Mgbeoji

Articles & Book Chapters

The emergence of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the juridical framework for global trade is one of the most fundamental changes in the second half of the last cenrury. No less epochal is the linkage of intellectual property rights (hereafter, IPR) issues to global trade governance. Prior to the WTO era, matters of IPR at the global level were usually dealt with at various fora of the United Nations, especially the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIP0).

The implication in this transformation has not been lost on commentators. Vincent Chiappetta …

Redefining Civilization: Historical Polarities And Mythologizing In Los Con Quistadores Of Pablo Neruda's Canto General, Mark J. Mascia

Languages Faculty Publications

The article analyzes the book Canto General, by Pablo Neruda.

Pablo Neruda's poetic history of Latin America, Canto General (1950), is perhaps best known for its lyricized defense of oppressed and subjugated peoples throughout Latin America, as the author had perceived them. This collection, organized into fifteen sections (often, though not always, linear in its chronicling of Latin American history), treats this social theme from Pre-Columbian times through the mid-Twentieth Century. In addition, the collection is clearly infused with a profoundly Marxist ideology, as well as a call to arms against powers which Neruda had perceived as aggressors, namely …

Swift's Shifting Satiric Strategy In Gulliver's Travels, Josh Mahoney

Student Writing Awards

According to Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver’s Travels, eighteenth-century English life contained cultural practices and attitudes that he felt needed to be confronted. In an attempt to call attention to these shortcomings, he uses entertaining and fantastical tales in Gulliver's Travels as a medium through which he injects a myriad of satiric techniques filled with subversive discourse that he hopes will vex and disconcert his readers out of their various iniquities and follies. However, Swift’s text presents several challenges to its interpretation, as "an analysis of Gulliver’s Travels can cruelly expose the writer’s intelligence and even character" (Brady 346). …

Preference And Performance Of The Wild Indigo Duskywing (Erynnis Baptisiae) On Its Native Host Yellow Wild Indigo (Baptisia Tinctoria) And On The Introduced Plant Crown Vetch (Securigera Varia), Susan D. Mcmahon

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The Wild Indigo Duskywing butterfly (Erynnis baptisiae) shifted from its native host plant Yellow Wild Indigo (Baptisia tinctoria) to the introduced plant Crown Vetch (Securigera varia). This study examined the effects of this host shift by comparing butterfly preference (larval feeding and female oviposition) and performance (pupal weight and pupation success) of two distinct butterfly populations, on both native and introduced plants. Caterpillars reared on the native plant had significantly greater pupal weight regardless of the population origin. Larval feeding preference was significantly affected by the plant fed upon; larvae from both populations strongly …

2006 Legislative Review, Marjorie A. Berger

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

2006 Animal-Law Related Articles, Brett Cattani

Animal Law Review

Animal Law is pleased to introduce as a new annual feature a bibliography of animal law-related articles published in law reviews and law journals during the previous year. For ease of reference, each article has been placed into a relevant category and each category provides a non-exhaustive list of potential topic examples. Some articles may appear in more than one category. Although we have made every effort to be as comprehensive as possible and present a complete listing of 2006 articles, this list may not be all-inclusive. We hope this compilation will serve as a useful resource in exploring contemporary …

Subverting Justice: An Indictment Of The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, Kim Mccoy

Animal Law Review

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) creates yet another obstacle for the animal advocacy movement. This article explores the reasons behind the AETA’s enactment and its implications for those who advocate on behalf of animals. The author notes the AETA targets individuals based solely on their political ideology and can deter these individuals from exercising their right to free speech due to the threat of being permanently branded as a terrorist. It is this infringement on First Amendment rights, coupled with the AETA’s overbreadth and vagueness, that lead the author to conclude the AETA is unconstitutional. The author also notes …

At A Complex Crossroads: Animal Law In Indian Country, Rob Roy Smith

Animal Law Review

Animals play an especially important role in Indian history and culture. The value of animals to the tribes is reflected in every aspect of their culture, from song and dance to land use and treaty terms. Tribes today are still dependent on fish and wildlife for ceremonies and everyday living. The tribes have translated their value for animals into creative ways to protect domestic animals and manage animal populations, including working with state and federal governments to co-manage fish and wildlife populations. This article begins with a discussion of criminal and civil jurisdiction within Indian Country. The article provides a …

Tshl Foundation Endowment Committee Information, Texas Silver Haired Legislature Foundation

Texas Silver-Haired Legislature

Meeting notes and information on the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature Foundation Endowment Committee, 2007-2008

The Evolution Of Altruism: Game Theory In Multilevel Selection And Inclusive Fitness, Jeffrey Fletcher, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although the prisoner's dilemma (PD) has been used extensively to study reciprocal altruism, here we show that the n-player prisoner's dilemma (NPD) is also central to two other prominent theories of the evolution of altruism: inclusive fitness and multilevel selection. An NPD model captures the essential factors for the evolution of altruism directly in its parameters and integrates important aspects of these two theories such as Hamilton's rule, Simpson's paradox, and the Price covariance equation. The model also suggests a simple interpretation of the Price selection decomposition and an alternative decomposition that is symmetrical and complementary to it. In some …