Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of The Common Pesticide Methoxychlor On Ovarian Steroidogenesis, Yucel Akgul

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Methoxychlor, an organochlorine pesticide, is released into the environment as a result of its agricultural, home and veterinary use. Following in vivo administration, it is quickly metabolized by liver to the proposed active agent, HPTE. Both methoxychlor and HPTE have been shown to exhibit weak estrogenic and antiandrogenic activities, and they are thought to exert their effects through estrogen and androgen receptors. In vivo exposure to methoxychlor in laboratory animals causes ovarian atrophy and impaired ovarian steroid production. The effect of methoxychlor and its mechanism(s) of action on ovarian steroidogenesis are not clearly defined. The central hypothesis of these studies …

Participatory Gis Approaches To Environmental Impact Assessment: A Case Study Of The Appalachian Corridor H Transportation Project., Ram Alagan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation explores the strengths and weaknesses of Participatory Geographic Information System (PGIS) approaches to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) with a specific focus on the potential contribution of Geo-visualization (GVIS) in this process. The approach draws heavily on concepts developed under the broad umbrella of GIS and Society and Critical GIS. PGIS recognizes the political economy of GIS in terms of data access, data representation, structural knowledge distortion, and community empowerment as being legitimate and significant issues in the application of GIS in community projects. EIA has been adopted as one of several important environmental practices that seek to engage …

Transcriptional And Post-Transcriptional Regulation Of Gadd45Α In Response To Arsenic., Deepak Bhatia

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Previously, publications from our lab had demonstrated that arsenic can regulate Gadd45α through p53-dependent and -independent manner where we explored the regulation of Gadd45α by various transcription factors, including Foxo3a, NF-κB and through stress signaling pathways such as JNK. Here we analyzed whether arsenic has any impact on the biosynthesis of Egr-1, since Egr-1 has also been reported to regulate Gadd45α in keratinocytes in response to UVB. Our results show arsenic can induce Egr-1 synthesis in a dose- and time-dependent manner. To determine the regulatory sequence responsible for Egr-1 induction, we created deletion constructs in the Egr-1 promoter and found …

Online Higher Education Faculty: Perceptions, Learning, And Changes In Teaching., Frances M. Dolloph

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine higher education faculty members’ perceptions as compared to their students’ perceptions of the psychosocial environment in distance learning courses as shown in the results of the Distance Education Learning Environment Survey (DELES) and to understand how faculty learn and change their teaching for course development and delivery using technology. Research shows that an increasing number of colleges and universities are offering online courses and programs and an increased number of students are enrolled in distance learning. The need to look at how faculty teach, learn, and change their online courses is …

Busting The Bandito Boyz: Militarism, Masculinity, And The Hunting Of Undocumented Persons In The U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, Robert F. Castro

Journal of Hate Studies

“Bandito heroes flourish in many cultures because they symbolize a virtually universal belief: that at times it’s necessary to break the law in order to obtain justice,” writes historian Paul Vanderwood (1992, p. xix). The idea of justice does seem to animate many of the stories associated with the borderlands’ most famous outlaws. For example, retaliatory justice appears to be at the heart of the literal violence that Joaquin Murrieta inflicted on California Anglos during the nineteenth century. Joaquin Murrieta became famous for his lightning-fast robberies and bloody assaults in California during the 1850s Gold Rush. Reportedly, Murrieta was set …

Transgender And Transsexual Identities: The Next Strange Fruit—Hate Crimes, Violence And Genocide Against The Global Trans-Communities, Jeremy D. Kidd, Tarynn M. Witten

Journal of Hate Studies

In this paper, we review the literature on global transgender hate crimes, violence, and abuse. We point out that it is possible to infer that this problem is not localized to the United States but rather, represents a global pandemic of focused prejudice. We point out that it can be viewed not only as an extremely serious and immediate public health problem, but also as genocide against a consistently invisibilized minority population. We provide concrete examples from the researchers’ field studies as well as from the published literature.

Hate Studies Through A Constructivist And Critical Pedagogical Approach, James M. Mohr

Journal of Hate Studies

Most of us are probably familiar with the child’s lament made during dinner: “I hate vegetables.” If you are a teacher, you may have heard students announce with conviction, “I hate homework.” It seems that everyone hates someone, something, or some action; so what value is there in a field of hate studies? Hate, when discussed as a strong feeling toward something one dislikes, appears simply as an emotion that does not deserve the special recognition of having an entire field committed to its research. However, this narrow focus on this one aspect of hate leaves ignored them very real …

Performance Management Process Report: John Jay College Goals & Targets 2007-2008, John Jay College Of Criminal Justice

Reports and Publications from John Jay College

No abstract provided.

Alleviating Skin Picking Behavior In Prader-Willi Syndrome Using Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors And Topiramate: A Review Of The Literature, Jessica M. Blurton

Modern Psychological Studies

This paper discusses what is known currently about treating skin picking behavior in people with Prader-Willi Syndrome using Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and topiramate. Because of small samples and flawed methodology it is argued that the advantages and disadvantages of either drug therapy are not fully known at this time, but that future research is strongly indicated. Some suggestions for further studies are discussed.

Gardening Programs In Schools: A Proposed Solution To Reverse The Consequences Of The Current American Food Culture, Charlotte Grace Blessey

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the problems with current food consumption and production practices, and proposes the implementation of school gardening programs as a possible remedy to these problems. Methods and procedures consisted of research on current publications, periodicals, internet sources and scholarly articles concerning these topics. It was found that current diet is a significant factor in widespread health problems facing populations today. This diet is intertwined with an environmentally destructive and vulnerable system of intensive industrial agriculture based on centralization, mass distribution, and standardization. School garden programs target children beginning at a young age and help to counter the culture …

Cruciform Extrusion In Methylation-State Variants Of Pbr322 Plasmid, Lucas Morgan Mcelwain

Honors Theses

The presence of DNA secondary structures in genomic DNA has been observed in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Specifically, sections of ssDNA may melt out and form cruciform/hairpin structures within palindromic sequences or areas of high purine content. Negative supercoiling of the DNA is necessary for energetic favorability of such an event. These noncanonical structures may serve as molecular switches, providing additional regulation of DNA transactions such as transcription and perhaps replication and recombination. Secondary structures associated with regulatory regions are of particular interest as potential sites for the binding of small molecules, which could alter the expression of genes. The …

The Impact Of Climate Change On Benthic-Pelagic Coupling And The Biogeochemical Cycling Of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, Robinson Walter Fulweiler

Open Access Dissertations

Climate change has altered the phenology or seasonal sequencing of events in many ecosystems, including Narragansett Bay, RI (USA). The timing and magnitude of the winter-spring bloom has changed dramatically over the last three decades resulting in a 60% decline in water column chlorophyll a concentrations in mid-Narragansett Bay. This large decline is linked to a long-term warming trend. We hypothesized that the decline in chlorophyll led to a decrease in the quantity and/or quality of organic matter deposition to the benthos and fundamental changes in sediment biogeochemical cycling and benthic-pelagic coupling. We observed significant decreases in sediment respiration and …

Polymorph Characterization And Control, Michael J. Donahue

Open Access Dissertations

Sustainability in the pharmaceutical industry will require the ability to monitor, and ultimately control production processes in real time. One area of particular concern is that of polymorphism, where there is a change of crystalline state for a compound, resulting in varied physiological properties. For this work we have looked at three such processes. First, an investigation of the ability to monitor polymorphic transitions in a pharmaceutical product, glycine, has been developed though optical spectroscopy. Second, the ability to induce nucleation of a particular polymorph via a novel method of acoustic levitation has been explored. Lastly, a method of characterization …

Personal Energy Management Styles And Their Influence On Work Performance, Catherine L. Pastille

Open Access Dissertations

Expectations for work performance have extended beyond the traditional confines of the work place and beyond a forty-hour work week as communication technologies have made work possible any time and anywhere. At the same time as expectations for work performance are increasing, the energy workers need to perform their work is remaining relatively fixed in the short-term. This study explored the question of how workers manage their personal energy. It was proposed that employees stay energized for their work by developing energy management styles (EMS) which are relatively stable patterns of behavior through which they manage their personal energy relative …

Survey Of Climate Change Litigation, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

Approximately 35 lawsuits have been filed in the United States concerning global climate change, together with several administrative proceedings and officially threatened actions. About half of them have led to judicial decisions, and several of those are under appeal; most of the rest are pending.

Much attention has deservedly gone to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Massachusetts v. the EPA, but that is only the tip of the figurative iceberg; and unlike most of the real ones, it is growing rather than melting.

This article surveys U.S. climate change litigation. The lawsuits can be broadly divided between those …

Holmes V. South Carolina Upholds Trial By Jury, Samuel R. Gross

Articles

Bobby Lee Holmes was convicted of a brutal rape-murder and sentenced to death. The only evidence that connected him to the crime was forensic: a palm print, and blood and fiber evidence. (Biological samples taken from the victim for two rape kits were compromised and yielded no identifiable evidence.) Holmes claimed that the state's forensic evidence was planted and mishandled, and that the rape and murder were committed by another man, Jimmy McCaw White. At a pretrial hearing three witnesses testified that they saw White near the victim's house at about the time of the crime, and four others testified …

Innovation Held Hostage: Has Federal Intervention Stifled Efforts To Reform The Child Welfare System?, Vivek Sankaran

Articles

The past thirty years have been marked by an increased federalization of child welfare law, which, like other areas of family law, traditionally remained within the sole purview of state legislatures. Despite increased oversight by the federal government, outcomes for foster children remain unacceptably poor The number of children in foster care has more than doubled over the past twenty-five years and reports of suspected maltreatment have skyrocketed. Children continue to stay too long in care and have too many placements. Case workers assigned to work with families and attorneys representing parents and children are overwhelmed and rarely provide meaningful …

Reading The Pink Locker Room On Football Culture And Title Ix, Erin E. Buzuvis

Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines the public controversy that erupted after local media reported on a comment the Author made about the University of Iowa's decision to renovate the football stadium's visiting team locker room entirely in pink. The Author submitted a statement in response to the University Steering Committee on NCAA Certification's request for feedback on a draft report and suggested that the "joke" behind the pink decor traded in sexist and homophobic values. As such, the Author concluded that it belonged in the comprehensive analysis of gender equity that the committee was preparing. The Author immediately received hundreds of hateful …

Understanding The Molecular Mechanism Of Eukaryotic Translation Termination: Functional Analysis Of Ribosomal Rna And Eukaryotic Release Factor One, Hua Fan-Minogue

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Novel Immunomodulatory Oligonucleotides For Cancer Therapy, Elizabeth R. Rayburn

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Proteomic Discovery Of Genistein Action In The Rat Mammary Gland., Craig Rowell

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of Skeletal Muscle Performance And Morphology Following Acute And Chronic Mechanical Loading Paradigms, Brent A. Baker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Unaccustomed muscular activity (incorporating lengthening-type movements) results in skeletal muscle damage, yet effects in performance and muscle morphology from movements such as stretch-shortening contractions (which are common-type movements in daily activities) are not well characterized or quantified. Thus, determining time- and dose-dependent responses resulting from acute mechanical exposure will aid critically in understanding muscle injury kinetics and the role of repair and regeneration following this type of exposure. Furthermore, skeletal muscle mass and function declines with age and these events result in a significant impact on the aging workforce. Differentiating the response following both acute and chronic adaptive exposures in …

Age And Sex Differences In Everyday Problem-Solving Goals And Strategies For Work And Caregiving Vignettes, Jennifer A. Flinn

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The current study examined how age and sex of participants, gender stereotype roles for the protagonist, and domain of the problem influenced the generation of problem-solving goals and strategies. One hundred and seventeen participants, 136 younger adults (M= 19 .22, SD = 1.30:58 M, 78 F) and 81 older adults (M= 73.17, SD = 7.76:38 M, 43 F) were given two hypothetical vignettes, one in the work domain, and one in the caregiving domain. Responses were coded for other-focused goals and interpersonally-oriented strategies. A 2 (age) x 2 (sex) x 2 (form type) x 2 (domain) MANOVA indicated two significant …

Productivity And Carbon Budgets Of Harvested Central Appalachian Forests, Sarah C. Davis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Land conversion and industrial pollution are two of the most influential vehicles for anthropogenic perturbation of natural terrestrial processes and both have increased dramatically over the course of the last century. This research explores the role of Central Appalachian hardwood forests in the global carbon (C) balance during a century of regeneration with changing land use and atmospheric pollution. Most of the forests in this region were logged in the early 1900s. During the century the followed, nitrogen (N) deposition rates became especially high in parts of Central Appalachia where an increasing number of regenerated mature forests are now undergoing …

De Novo Asymmetric Synthesis Of Mannopeptimycin-E, Novobiocin And Methymycin Analogues, Sanjeeva Rao Guppi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The carbohydrate portion of the natural products plays a crucial role in biology, such as target binding, solubility, tissue targeting, and membrane transportation. The O'Doherty group use a de novo methodology to build the desired functionality and stereochemistry within each sugar, in contrast to the traditional approach using known sugar isomers as starting materials. Recently, we have developed a practical and highly diastereoselective palladium catalyzed glycosylation reaction to control the stereochemistry at the anomeric center. Continuing, our investigations on the utility of this strategy, we turned our attention to the syntheses of the bioactive carbohydrate-based natural product analogues. The targets …

Effect Of Oxidative Stress Induced By Low-Level Engineered Nanoparticles On Microbial Viability And Resistance To Uv Irradiation, Hang Li

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Introduction of engineered nanomaterials into water systems has potential of affecting microbial viability and resistance to commonly used disinfectants. We studied how photocatalytically induced oxidative stress by engineered nanoparticles can affect bacterial viability and resistance to UVC at 254 nm. Flow cytometry analysis, fecal viability analysis and respiratory measurements showed that oxidative stress induced by engineered TiO2 nanoparticles with concentrations in ppb range can cause sublethal effects and lowered oxygen utilization rate. Respiratory measurements showed that degree of reduction in oxygen utilization depended on exposure time to oxidative stress but was not sensitive to nanoparticle concentrations examined in the study.;Fecal …

Fabrication And Functional Analysis Of Sparrow Biosensor, Praneetha Poloju

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Biosensors are powerful tools aimed at providing selective identification of toxic chemical compounds in industrial products, chemical substances, environmental samples or biological systems (e.g., bacteria, virus, or tissue components) for biomedical diagnosis. A new generation of biosensors are being developed, which combine the sensitivity and at the low cost of microelectronics.;The Nano/Micro Devices group at Microelectronics Systems Research Center (MSRC) has been researching stacked waveguide optical sensors useful for detecting and quantifying events in biological molecular chemistry, for example, binding events. This thesis describes the results of our initial research of (SPARROW) based technology. This study contains the design and …

The Regulation And Role Of Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1 (Hif-1) In Human Cancer, Heath Devin Skinner

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Hypoxia inducible factor-1 is a heterodimeric basic-loop-helix transcription factor composed of two subunits, HIF-1alpha and HIF-1beta. HIF-1beta is constitutively expressed in cells, while HIF-1alpha is upregulated by hypoxia as well as growth factors and oncogenes. In this study we focus on the regulation of HIF-1alpha expression by phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K), and novel functions of HIF-1alpha. Chapter 1 of this dissertation, consists of background and a brief review of the literature regarding PI3K signaling and HIF-1alpha. Chapter 2 focuses on the observation that basal HIF-1alpha expression is upregulated in ovarian cancer and the mechanism by which PI3K regulates this effect. Chapter …

Using Gain Of Function Genetics To Explore The Role Of Non-Histone Chromosomal Protein D1 In Drosophila Melanogaster, Marissa B. Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The organization of eukaryotic genomes requires a harmony between efficient compaction and accessibility. This is achieved through the packaging of chromatin and the influence of chromosomal proteins, a topic not well understood. A chromosomal protein that remains a mystery at present is the D1 protein. Identified in 1974 by Alfageme et al., D1 has been highly characterized but its function remains unknown. The goal of this study was to elucidate the function of D1 by overexpression analysis using the GAL4/UAS system in Drosophila melanogaster. Analysis of gain-of-function phenotypes due to D1 overexpression in a variety of tissues determined that ectopic …

Characterization Of Myosin I In The Inner Ear, Kelli R. Phillips

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Specialized epithelial cells, called hair cells, detect stimuli perceived by the organs of the inner ear. Such stimuli deflect the sensing organelle of the hair cell, the hair bundle. This force is proposed to create tension in the tip link, an extracellular filamentous structure, and open mechanically-gated ion channels. This process, called mechanotransduction, allows ions to enter the hair cell and results in its depolarization. During prolonged stimuli, the sensitivity of the hair cell is maintained by adaptation. To date, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that regulate either mechanotransduction or adaptation.;Myosin-1c (Myo1c) has been proposed to be the …