Digital Commons Network^™

Can Collective Action And Capacity Building Reduce Vulnerability Among Settled Pastoralists?, D. Layne Coppock, Solomon Desta, Getachew Gebru, Seyoum Tezera

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

In 2001 PARIMA and her partners began to create collective-action groups among illiterate, settled pastoralists in southern Ethiopia. These groups—dominated by women—focused on savings-led microfinance, small business, and livestock marketing to increase incomes and diversify livelihoods. Fifty-nine groups with over 2,100 members were formed using intensive capacity- building methods. After six years we wanted to compare group members with their neighbors who never participated in the PARIMA program. We surveyed 180 individuals from groups and paired control (traditional) communities. Respondents were asked to assess the extent that they perceived positive, negative, or no change in their lives over the past …

Diffusion Of Collective-Action Innovations Among Pastoralists In Liben District, Ethiopia, D. Layne Coppock, Solomon Desta, Getachew Gebru, Getachew Kassa, Seyoum Tezera

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

In 2001 PARIMA and her partners began to create collective-action groups among illiterate, settled pastoralists in Ethiopia. These groups—soon dominated by women—focused on savings-led microfinance, small business activity, and livestock marketing to increase incomes and diversify livelihoods. Fifty-nine groups with over 2,100 members were formed using intensive training methods, and they have subsequently merged into legally recognized cooperatives. We regard this approach as successful and sustainable. We were curious, however, if “the word has spread” and collective-action has spontaneously arisen beyond our immediate project area. Preliminary findings from recent surveys of settlements in Liben District indicate that diffusion of collective-action …

Stakeholder Alliance Facilitates Re-Introduction Of Prescribed Fire On The Borana Plateau Of Southern Ethiopia, D. Layne Coppock, Getachew Gebru, Solomon Desta, Lemma Gizachew, Dadhi Amosha, Feyissa Taffa

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

The implementation of a new prescribed fire program to restore bush-encroached rangelands in southern Ethiopia—and hence increase herbaceous forage supplies for livestock—is given as an example of an integrated action involving multiple institutions to address resource-management problems. The resumption of planned fire—traditionally conducted over hundreds of years by pastoralists until the 1970s—was preceded by key activities including mobilization of the pastoral community, review of government proclamations regarding use of fire, interaction with policy makers, capacity building among pastoralists and agency personnel on how to implement and manage planned fires, development of an overall prescribed burn plan, selection of geo-referenced sites, …

Spatial Exploration Patterns Determine Navigation Efficiency: Trade-Off Between Memory Demands And Distance Travelled, Tamas Makany, Edward S. Redhead, Itiel E. Dror

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A total of 41 participants explored a novel square-shaped environment containing five identical boxes each hiding a visually distinct object. After an initial free exploration the participants were required to locate the objects first in a predetermined and subsequently in an optional order task. Two distinct exploration strategies emerged: Participants explored either along the main axes of the room (axial), or in a more spatially spread, circular pattern around the edges of the room (circular). These initial exploration strategies influenced the optimality of spatial navigation performance in the subsequent optional order task. The results reflect a trade-off between memory demands …

Neurogranin Controls The Spatiotemporal Pattern Of Postsynaptic Ca2+/Cam Signaling, Yoshihisa Kubota, John A Putkey, M Neal Waxham

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Neurogranin (Ng) is a postsynaptic IQ-motif containing protein that accelerates Ca(2+) dissociation from calmodulin (CaM), a key regulator of long-term potentiation and long-term depression in CA1 pyramidal neurons. The exact physiological role of Ng, however, remains controversial. Two genetic knockout studies of Ng showed opposite outcomes in terms of the induction of synaptic plasticity. To understand its function, we test the hypothesis that Ng could regulate the spatial range of action of Ca(2+)/CaM based on its ability to accelerate the dissociation of Ca(2+) from CaM. Using a mathematical model constructed on the known biochemistry of Ng, we calculate the cycle …

Reproductive Consequences Of Exposure To Sediment Extracts From The South Branch Of The Potomac River On Japanese Medaka (Oryzias Latipes), Seth R. Davis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

An intersex condition, defined as the presence of oocytes in the testes of male gonochoristic fish, has been observed in smallmouth bass in the South Branch of the Potomac River, West Virginia, which indicates exposure to exogenous estrogens. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC's) are generally hydrophobic and would tend to be found within the sediment of aquatic environments. Few studies have attempted to show the effects of exposure to EDC's on fish using sediment chemical extracts. We have developed a mass sediment extraction technique using 2 solvents (hexane, ethyl acetate:acetone 50:50) to determine the effects of extracted chemicals from three sites …

Determination Of The Nutritional Value, Protein Quality And Safety Of Krill Protein Concentrate Isolated Using An Isolelectric Solubilization/Precipitation Technique, Joseph Christopher Gigliotti

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Despite its abundance and nutritional value, krill has not been widely utilized for human consumption due to the lack of proper technology for protein recovery. The study objectives were to isolate krill protein concentrate (KPC) and to determine the nutritional value, health benefits, and safety of KPC for human consumption. Proximate analysis indicated KPC on a dry basis is composed of ∼78% protein and ∼8% fat of which ∼27% are omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (o-3 PUFAs). The amino acid composition of KPC indicated that all nine essential amino acids were present in amounts that met the requirements for adult humans …

Attitudes Of 4-H Club Leaders Toward Volunteer Training In West Virginia, Jennifer Post

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Volunteers are essential to the 4-H program. This study was conducted to determine why individuals volunteer for 4-H, how volunteers feel towards the training they are offered, what the training needs of 4-H volunteers were, and the methods 4-H volunteers prefer to receive training. A questionnaire was sent to 260 volunteer club leaders in 27 counties in the state of West Virginia. 4-H volunteers have multiple reasons for being a volunteer club leader including helping people and working with youth. 4-H volunteer club leaders feel that training is important in becoming a leader and that training is for everyone regardless …

Choice Among Stimuli In Equivalence Classes, Christina Alligood

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Stability in responding to stimuli within equivalence classes has implications for the maintenance of classes and the ease at which they can be reformed. One way of investigating stability is to examine accuracy and speed of responding as a function of nodal number, or the number of nodes between stimuli in a class. Previous research suggests that subjects respond more quickly and more accurately on relations involving fewer nodes (Fields, Adams, & Verhave, 1989 [May]; Fields, Adams, Verhave, & Newman, 1990; Fields, Adams, & Verhave, 1993; Fields, Landon-Jiminez, Buffington, & Adams, 1995; Spencer & Chase, 1996). A second way to …

Stream Water Quality And Benthic Macroinvertebrate Ecology In A Coal-Mining, Acid-Sensitive Region, George T. Merovich Jr.

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Acid mine drainage (AMD) and acid rain are important sources of impairment to streams in the Tygart Valley and Cheat River basins in north central West Virginia, USA. Due to a network of abandoned mined lands and bond forfeiture sites in this coal-mining region, AMD represents severe, but rather localized impacts to water quality. AMD is a consequence of the chemical oxidation of reduced geological minerals (sulfides) usually associated with coal during mining operations. The reactions produce aqueous solutions high in sulfates and dissolved metals when the minerals are exposed to the oxic environment through land disturbance. In addition, the …

Stand Dynamics Of An Old-Growth Hemlock-Hardwood Forest In West Virginia, Nathan R. Beane

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cathedral State Park (CSP) is a 54-ha, old-growth, hemlock-hardwood forest located in the central Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. Trees larger than 100 cm diameter at breast height (dbh) and 35 m tall are common. Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) (Adelges tsugae Annand) is an exotic insect that currently threatens eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.) throughout its native range, and was found in CSP in 2002. In 2006, field plots established in 2000 were remeasured to assess adelgid-induced changes to forest structure and species composition. The herbaceous plant community was also measured during the 2006 growing season to describe how …

Dot Matrices, Kelly Suzanne Sipes

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

My thesis work is the production and mapping of painterly space using particular methods of formal abstraction, in contrast with common pattern. I construct these paintings in several layers, embellishing gestural atmospheres with idiosyncratic shapes and patterns in alternating rhythms. My focus is on the development of improvisational processes, creating a less ceremonious context for the measure of abstract painting as an idea, a visual language, and as an autonomous object. My technique of mapping is established to consider a territory for a reformed autonomous identity that is in opposition to the pluralist excesses of the postmodern. This paper will …

Collective Action Among Agro-Pastoralists In Baringo District, Kenya: Identifying And Nurturing The Entrepreneurs, D. Layne Coppock, Mark N. Mutinda, Stellamaris K. Muthoka, Abdillahi A. Aboud

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

The rural population of Baringo District in the Rift Valley of north-central Kenya faces numerous challenges including widespread environmental degradation and poverty. The region has endured decades of failed development projects, proliferation of food aid, and has been studied extensively. We have recently undertaken a different approach focused on bottom-up participatory action research and outreach among the Il Chamus and Tugen ethnic communities. The objective is to explore new ways to empower local people via provision of information, novel experiences, and initial access to resources to allow them to envision an alternative future and implement their own activities to better-manage …

Building Effective Community Participation And Stakeholder Partnerships To Promote Positive Change In The Southern Ethiopian Rangelands, D. Layne Coppock, Solomon Desta, Getachew Gebru, Seyoum Tezera, Dadi Amosha

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Recently there has been increased recognition that authentic community participation and creating strong inter-institutional partnerships are both important in the process of capacity building, generating innovation, and sustaining development achievements in rural Africa. Here we summarize a process of community participation and formation of institutional partnerships in support of pastoral risk-management interventions over the past seven years on the Borana Plateau. Community involvement has been stimulated using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) methods. This has resulted in the proliferation of pastoral collective-action groups that have diversified livelihoods, engaged markets, and improved incomes. Implementing and sustaining positive change, however, has also been …

Report On Nutria Management And Research In The Pacific Northwest, Trevor Sheffels, Mark Sytsma

Center for Lakes and Reservoirs Publications and Presentations

The nutria (Myocastor coypus) is a large semi-aquatic mammal native to South America that has been introduced to numerous countries around the world, primarily for fur farming. Nutria were introduced in Oregon and Washington in the 1930s, and feral populations were documented in 1943. Populations are known to be expanding in both Oregon and Washington, and regional nutria damage and nuisance complaints have increased in recent years. Most of the extensive damage caused by nutria is a direct result of feeding and burrowing, but nutria are also capable of transporting parasites and pathogens transmittable to humans, livestock, and …

Volume 32, No. 3

The Weldon Times

A student-run newspaper published at the School of Law at Dalhousie University.

Editor in Chief: James Lea

Layout Editor: Mavis Mak

Editors: Jenn Morrison, Cindy Locke, Jessica Hogeveen

Evaluation Of Humoral Immunity In Golden Hamsters Experimentally Infected With Leishmania Donovani, Hayder Zuhair Al-Samra'ay

Baghdad Science Journal

This study has evaluated the humoral immune response in Golden Hamsters experimentally infected with Leishmania donovani along (4) times of follow up (15, 30, 60, 90) days after infection. Indirect haemagglutination test was used to determine the antibody titer through the various stages of the study. Also the progress of the infection was studied depending on some of the visceral changes caused by the parasite, like weight of liver, length and weight of spleen and the count of Leishmania parasites in spleen were measured. Results has shown that there was an increase in antibody titer and the maximum value was …

Using Hermeneutic Phenomenology To Investigate How Experienced Practitioners Lear N To Communicate Clinical Reasoning, Rola Ajjawi, Joy Higgs

The Qualitative Report

This paper is primarily targeted at doctoral students and other researchers considering using hermeneutic phenomenology as a research strategy. We present interpretive paradigm research designed to investigate how experienced practitioners learn to communicate their clinical reasoning in professional practice. Twelve experienced physiotherapy practitioners participated in this research. Using hermeneutic phenomenology enabled access to a phenomenon that is often subconscious and provided a means of interpreting participants’ experiences of personal learning journeys. Within the philosophy underpinning hermeneutic phenomenology , researchers need to design a research strategy that flows directly from the research question and goals of the research project. This paper …

Appreciative Inquiry-Based Intervention: A Network View Of Organizational Renewal, Thomas H. Carlson

Student Scholarship

This paper describes the design, conduct and outcomes of an Appreciative Inquiry-based intervention. The subject group was a newly formed unit of a health care organization. The unit was formed by merging elements of two preexisting groups, and was guided by inexperienced managers. Previous interaction between those groups had been characterized by distrust and competition. Appreciative Inquiry provided the foundation for the intervention. Members of the unit galvanized around identified strengths, shared values and beliefs, shared perspectives, and a positive vision of their future; the normative-relational aspect of the intervention. On that foundation, members of the unit developed generative skills …

The Emergence Of Sex, Ursula Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

Biological traits, the foci of natural selection, are by definition emergent from the genes, proteins, and other “nothing-buts” that constitute them. Moreover, and with the exception of recently emergent “spandrels,” each can be accorded a teleological dimension—each is “for” some purpose conducive to an organism's continuation. Sex, which is “for” the generation of recombinant genomes, may be one of the most ancient and ubiquitous traits in biology. In the course of its evolution, many additional traits, such as gender and nurture, have emerged. Patterns of sexual exchange are the basis for patterns of biological evolution and are central to the …

Everything Old Is New Again: Lessons From Dodge V. Ford Motor Company, M. Todd Henderson

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Compromised Weaponry Enhances Crayfish Tailflipping, Sandra Y. Espinoza, Zen Faulkes

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

As a defense strategy, many crustaceans perform one of two well described stereotyped single fast tailflips (~6 ms in adult crayfish), which are triggered by a neural circuit that includes medial giant interneurons (MG) and lateral giant interneurons (LG). Tailflips can also occur without these giant interneurons firing, however; these non-giant tailflips are variable, repetitive, and significantly longer (~150 ms). Previous work showed that crayfish exposed to natural stimulus respond with a non-giant tailflip significantly faster than when presented with an artificial stimulus and that complete removal of claws lowered tailflipping threshold. We tested whether compromising weapons would influence tailflipping. …

Review Of The Efficacy And Safety Of Poly (2-Propenal, 2-Propenoic Acid): A Novel Antimicrobial Polymer, Alistair Iain Murdoch, Rosalie Dianne Mccauley, David John Hampson

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

The withdrawal of antibiotic growth promoters is likely to increase the incidence of enteric disease in pig and broiler farms; especially in poorly sanitised conditions. Therefore, replacements for the antibiotic growth promoters currently used in both pig and poultry production, which offer disease control and delay the further development of antibiotic resistance, will become increasingly important. Poly (2-propenal, 2-propenoic acid) (pPPA) is a new chemical entity undergoing development by Chemeq Ltd, Australia. It was designed to contain aldehyde groups for antimicrobial activity, carboxylic acid groups to aid water solubility and conformationally is a long chain, high molecular weight polymer developed …

Methods Of Season Extension For Market Gardeners, Natalie R. Bumgarner

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Season extension methods have been used in many climates and crops for centuries on all scales of vegetable production. Our research compared the effect of six season extension methods on soil and ambient temperatures and yields of warm and cool season vegetables in organic production. The methods under investigation in field plots were row cover, row cover with water tubes, low tunnel, low tunnel with water tubes, and a control for comparison, which were all replicated three times in field plots. The cold frame, and cold frame with water buffer treatments were replicated once in separate structures. Radishes, lettuce, peppers, …

Synthetic Seed Production For Germplasm Storage Of Hydrastis Canadensis L. (Goldenseal), Satyaprakash R. Settipalli

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.) is an important medicinal plant, native to Canada and Eastern United States, used as an antibiotic, anticonvulsant and in treatments for inflammations and dyspepsia. Over collection of wild population and native habitat destruction has lead the species to be listed as an endangered species in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Appendix II. This brought a revived interest in conservation of germplasm.;Calcium alginate solid and hollow bead encapsulation protocols were evaluated. Shoot and callus propagules were encapsulated in calcium alginate solid bead (supplemented with stage II nutrient media) …

The Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator: Regulation By Hsp-90, Kevin Marrs

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The hypothesis of this project is that a functionally relevant association exists between CFTR and Hsp90. In testing this hypothesis, (a) the association of CFTR and Hsp90 is confirmed via crosslinking and immunoprecipitation of CFTR from stably transfected HEK-293 cells, electrophoretic separation of cross-linked proteins, and protein identification via SDS-PAGE, western blotting, and mass spectrometry. Also, this hypothesis is tested by (b) functionally assessing the effect of Hsp90 on CFTR function via Ussing chamber analysis, two-electrode voltage clamp analysis, preliminary in vivoanimal studies, and protein phosphorylation. The HEK-293 Flag-CFTR cells used in this study allows for a high degree …

Theoretical And Experimental Evaluation Of Spatial Resolution In A Variable Resolution X-Ray Computed Tomography Scanner, Roman Melnyk

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

A variable resolution x-ray (VRX) computed tomography (CT) scanner can image objects of various sizes with greatly improved spatial resolution. The scanner employs an angulated discrete detector and achieves the resolution boost by matching the detector angulation to the scanner field of view (FOV) determined by the size of an object being imaged. A comprehensive evaluation of spatial resolution in an experimental version of the VRX CT scanner is presented in this dissertation. Two components of this resolution were evaluated – the pre-reconstruction spatial resolution, described by the detector presampling modulation transfer function (MTF), and the post-reconstruction spatial resolution, given …

Synthesis Of Novel Sulfonamide-Based Calpain Inhibitors And Their Potential As Anti-Tumor Agents, Jin Xu

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Calpain is a class of intracellular cytoplasmic cysteine proteases.1 The enzyme participates in different intracellular signaling pathways that are mediated by Ca2+.2 The two major isoforms of calpain universally distributed in most mammalian tissues are calpain 1 (µ-calpain) and calpain 2 (m-calpain). The exact in vivo function of the enzyme is not clear, but calpain has been implicated in a variety of physiological and pathological conditions,3 such as cancer, stroke, cardiac ischaemia, muscular dystrophy, cataract and Alzheimer’s disease. Calpain inhibitors are therefore of interest as therapeutic agents and as biomedical tools.

Several potent calpain inhibitors isolated from natural sources as …

Cardiopulmonary Predicators Of Dysfunctional Ventilator Weaning Response After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, Annapoorna Mary

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Although the majority of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients are extubated within 6 to 8 hours following surgery, 20% to 40% of patients remain intubated 12 hours after surgery due to dysfunctional ventilator weaning response (DVWR). DVWR associated with increased morbidity and mortality (30% to 43%) following CABG surgery. Finding significant antecedence to predict DVWR could help to identify and prevent the complications from DVWR after CABG surgery. Literature review revealed that there is an association between cardiopulmonary indicators (CPI) and DVWR after CABG surgery. Cardiopulmonary indicators are the selected hemodynamic parameters that have an association with DVWR. …

The Legal Ethics Of Pediatric Research, Doriane Lambelet Coleman

Duke Law Journal

Since the mid- to late 1990s, the scientific and medical research community has sought to increase its access to healthy children for research protocols that involve harm or a risk of harm. This move reverses longstanding policy within that community generally to exclude healthy children from such protocols on the grounds that the research as to them is non-therapeutic, that they are particularly vulnerable to research-related abuses, and that they are unable themselves to give informed consent to their participation. The research community's new posture has been supported by prominent pediatric bioethicists who have argued that unless healthy children are …