Digital Commons Network^™

From Visit To Action: How Zoo Visitor Characteristics Influence Environmentally-Responsible Behavior, Stephanie Joseph

All Theses

Over the last 30 years, AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums have shifted focus from recreation to become centers of research, conservation and education. As awareness of environmental issues increases, zoos around the world have stepped up the challenge of engaging their visitors in learning experiences to enhance knowledge and awareness of conservation initiatives and eventually evoke action. Evaluation of these educational programs has also shifted from assessing whether a program works to determining for whom it works and why. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of locus of control, motivation, previous life experiences, personal interest and knowledge …

Vitamin D Supplementation And Breastfed Infants, Jana Zwilling

Theses and Dissertations

Exclusive breastfeeding has been proven to be the best sole source of nutrition for infants until six months of age when supplemental foods may be added. Controversies have arisen regarding the necessity for vitamin D supplementation prior to six months of age in exclusively breastfed infants. There are inconsistent practices and information provided to parents regarding the need to provide vitamin D supplementation to their infants. Therefore, the puqJose of this project was to determine the cmTent evidence for vitamin D supplementation in exclusively breastfed infants in the first six months of life. Current evidence supports supplementing exclusively breastfed infants …

Reactive Airway Disease In Relation To Indoor Air Quality, Latoria Williams

Theses and Dissertations

You're at work. The housekeepers have just sprayed a chemical in the air. You can't breathe. The purpose of this project is to identify the types of diseases and symptomology created by poor indoor air quality and use this information to inform other healthcare professionals

Many different terms are used to describe this phenomenon; environmental health, environmental illness, sick building/house syndrome, and multiple chemical sensitivity. There are also a wide variety of diseases/symptoms created by this phenomenon. The search revealed that back in the 70s and 80s the term used was reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS) but the more popular …

Modeling And Performance Analysis Of A Uav-Based Sensor Network For Improved Atr, Xiaohan Chen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) is computer processing of images or signals acquired by sensors with the purpose to identify objects of interest (targets). This technology is a critical element for surveillance missions. Over the past several years there has been an increasing trend towards fielding swarms of unattended aerial vehicles (UAVs) operating as sensor networks in the air. This trend offers opportunities of integration ATR systems with a UAV-based sensor network to improve the recognition performance. This dissertation addresses some of design issues of ATR systems, explores recognition capabilities of sensor networks in the presence of various distortions and analyzes …

Putative Role Of Palmitate And Akt Signaling In Attenuating Skeletal Muscle Growth In The Obese Zucker Rat, Jonathan Michael Peterson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Obese zucker rat (OZR) is a model of obesity and metabolic syndrome, with a reduced skeletal muscle mass compared with the lean zucker rat (LZR). Growth and hypertrophy of muscle fibers critically depend on activation and differentiation of satellite cells into new myonuclei, as well as the prevention of myonuclear apoptosis. Akt is known to regulate satellite cell activation and differentiation and inhibit apoptotic signaling. Akt activity is also reduced in the OZR compared to the LZR. The present study had two primary purposes; first, to observe, in vitro, the effects of the saturated free fatty acid palmitate on …

Effects Of A Mind-Consciousness-Thought (Mct) Intervention On Stress And Well-Being In Freshman Nursing Students, Judith A. Sedgeman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

An emerging "health" paradigm, Mind-Consciousness-Thought (MCT), proposes that three universal Principles, Mind (life energy), Consciousness (the capacity to be aware of thinking as "reality"), and Thought (the ability to create thinking continually), explain how psychological experience is created from the inside-out, not created from the outside-in by events and circumstances. It proposes that life comes through us, not at us. It proposes that insight into the existence and operation of those principles reconnects people to their innate mental well-being, an always accessible source of balance, wisdom, and creativity (i.e., resiliency). It proposes that accessing mental well-being is incompatible with chronic …

Increasing The Performance And Realism Of Procedurally Generated Buildings, Brian Sowers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As multimedia such as games and movies grow, so does the need for content. Textures, 3D models, expansive terrain, sound effects, and other data must be generated to support and enrich these multimedia productions. As this need for content continues to grow, two critical problems emerge: the cost of hiring artists to create the content becomes extremely large, as does the amount of memory needed to store and manipulate the content.;To combat these issues, procedural content generation, or content generated algorithmically rather than via an artist, has been introduced. Algorithmically generating content allows for rapid creation of large amounts of …

Evaluation Of Exhaust After-Treatment Device Effectiveness In Reducing Regulated And Unregulated Emissions From Natural Gas Fueled Heavy Duty Transit Bus, Arvind Padmavathy Thiruvengadam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The promulgation of the public transit fleet rule by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in 2000, has given transit fleet operators the option of choosing the alternative fuel path in order to reduce their fleet average NOx and PM emissions. Natural gas being an abundant domestic fuel, has found its way as an economically and technologically feasible alternative fuel option. Many studies have shown the clean burning nature of natural gas with lower NOx and near zero Particulate Matter (PM) emissions from heavy duty natural gas vehicles. Though natural gas fueled vehicles emit lower NOx and PM than their …

Elk Calf Survival And Mortality Following Wolf Restoration To Yellowstone National Park, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech, P. J. White

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

We conducted a 3-year study (May 2003–Apr 2006) of mortality of northern Yellowstone elk (Cervus elaphus) calves to determine the cause for the recruitment decline (i.e., 33 calves to 13 calves/100 adult F) following the restoration of wolves (Canis lupus). We captured, fit with radiotransmitters, and evaluated blood characteristics and disease antibody seroprevalence in 151 calves ≤6 days old (68M:83F). Concentrations (x, SE) of potential condition indicators were as follows: thyroxine (T4; 13.8 μg/dL, 0.43), serum urea nitrogen (SUN; 17.4 mg/dL, 0.57), γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT; 66.4 IU/L, 4.36), gamma globulins (GG; 1.5 g/dL, 0.07), and insulin-like growth …

Clozapine And Olanzapine Exhibit An Intrinsic Anxiolytic Property In Two Conditioned Fear Paradigms: Contrast With Haloperidol And Chlordiazepoxide, Alexa Mead, Ming Li, Shitij Kapur

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Psychotic fear and anxiety disturbances are seen at a relatively high frequency in patients with schizophrenia. Atypical anti-psychotics are believed to show superior efficacy in reducing these symptoms. However, clinical and preclinical evidence regarding their anxiolytic efficacy has been mixed. In this study, we evaluated the possible anxiolytic property of two atypicals, clozapine and olanzapine, and compared them with typical haloperidol and chlordiazepoxide (a prototype of sedative-anxiolytic drug) in two preclinical models of fear. In Experiment 1, we used a fear-induced passive avoidance and conditioned place aversion paradigm and examined the effects of clozapine (20 mg/kg, sc), haloperidol (0.05 mg/kg, …

Iron(Iii)-Salophene: An Organometallic Compound With Selective Cytotoxic And Anti-Proliferative Properties In Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer Cells, Thilo S. Lange, Kyu Kwang Kim, Rakesh K. Singh, Robert M. Strongin, Carolyn Mccourt, Laurent Brard

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: In this pioneer study to the biological activity of organometallic compound Iron(III)-salophene (Fe-SP) the specific effects of Fe-SP on viability, morphology, proliferation, and cell-cycle progression on platinum-resistant ovariancancer cell lines were investigated.

Methodology/Principal Findings: Fe-SP displayed selective cytotoxicity against SKOV-3 and OVCAR-3 (ovarian epithelial adenocarcinoma) cell lines at concentrations between 100 nM and 1 μM, while the viability of HeLa cells (epithelial cervix adenocarcinoma) or primary lung or skin fibroblasts was not affected. SKOV-3 cells in contrast to fibroblasts after treatment with Fe-SP revealed apparent hallmarks of apoptosis including densely stained nuclear granular bodies within fragmented nuclei, highly condensed …

Tail Postures Of Four Quadrupedal Leaf Monkeys (Pygathrix Nemaeus, P. Cinerea, Trachypithecus Delacouri And T. Hatinhensis) At The Endangered Primate Rescue Center, Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam, Nancy J. Stevens, Kristin A. Wright, Herbert H. Covert, Tilo Nadler

Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Physiological Effects Of Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Immunocontraception On White-Tailed Deer, Paul D. Curtis, Milo E. Richmond, Lowell A. Miller, Fred W. Quimby

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Before immunocontraceptives can be considered safe to use on wildlife species, potential health risks should be assessed. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) immunocontraceptive has successfully reduced fertility of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus); however, associated deer physiology has rarely been examined. We conducted gross necropsy examinations, histology, and blood chemistry comparisons on euthanized deer previously vaccinated with immunogenic GnRH (n = 18 females and n = 4 males), or left as untreated controls (n = 7 females and n = 6 males). Granulomas were found at injection sites of most deer, even 3 years post-treatment. There were no significant differences in …

Gnrh Immunocontraception Of Male And Female White-Tailed Deer Fawns, Lowell A. Miller, James P. Gionfriddo, Jack C. Rhyan, Kathleen A. Fagerstone, Donald C. Wagner, Gary J. Killian

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Immunocontraceptive vaccines based on gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) have been tested in adult white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), but their effects on fawns are unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine if early immunization against GnRH would induce a long-lasting immune response in fawns, and if it would delay or prevent sexual development. We gave primary and subsequent booster injections of a KLH-GnRH/Freund’s vaccine to 6 male and 6 female fawns. This vaccine contained the same active ingredients as GonaCon™ vaccine, but it contained Freund’s adjuvant instead of AdjuVac™ adjuvant. Two 450-μg injections were given 1 month apart …

Animal-Companion Depictions In Women’S Magazine Advertising, Patricia F. Kennedy, Mary G. Mcgarvey

Department of Marketing: Faculty Publications

Via a content analysis of 1398 advertisements that include both people and pets and that appeared in women’s magazines over a period of four decades, this study examines the changing roles played by companion animals and the changes in themes used in these advertisements. Considering both the pictures and text, the study codes advertisements for themes, pet roles, whether or not the pet appears on a leash, and the physical location of the pet. These data show the movement of companion animals from outdoor protectors and companions to loved family members sharing all areas of the home with their human …

Administrative Law As The New Federalism, Gillian E. Metzger

Duke Law Journal

Despite the recognized impact that the national administrative state has had on the federal system, the relationship between federalism and administrative law remains strangely inchoate and unanalyzed. Recent Supreme Court case law suggests that the Court is increasingly focused on this relationship and is using administrative law to address federalism concerns even as it refuses to curb Congress's regulatory authority on constitutional grounds. This Article explores how administrative law may be becoming the new federalism and assesses how well-adapted administrative law is to performing this role. It argues that administrative law has important federalism-reinforcing features and represents a critical approach …

Tennis With The Net Down: Administrative Federalism Without Congress, Stuart Minor Benjamin, Ernest A. Young

Duke Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Apoptosis And Eosinophils. Regulation And Clinical Relevance, Faris Q Alenzi،

Saudi Medical Journal

Apoptosis, or program cell death, is a process of fundamental biological importance, and eosinophil apoptosis is believed to be the primary mechanism for removing eosinophils from the lung followed by their recognition and phagocytosis by macrophages or resident bronchial epithelial cells. There is, therefore, an increased interest in the fundamental role of the signals and intracellular signaling molecules that initiate and control apoptosis in human eosinophils though much remains to be established. This article reviews briefly the cross talks between apoptosis and eosinophils and summarizes the recent developments in this field.

The Effect Of Paclitaxel On Rats Following Benzoapyrene Treatment, Didem Cosan, Ayse Basaran, Irfan Degirmenci, Hasan V. Gunes, Erinc Aral

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of paclitaxel on rats that received benzoapyrene. METHODS: In this study, 45 male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 2-month-old were used, which were housed at the Medical Biology Department of Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey in 2006. Urine, blood, liver, and kidney tissue samples of Sprague Dawley rats treated with benzoapyrene and paclitaxel were examined in our study. Biochemical data were evaluated on urine and blood samples, and liver and kidney tissue samples were investigated by light microscopy. RESULTS: Superoxide dismutase, catalase activities, and malondialdehyde values in the group which received benzoapyrene were significantly different than the …

The Contribution Of Nitric Oxide On The Relaxation Effects Of Diethylstilbestrol, Askin Hekimoglu, Fatma Celik, Taskin Tas, Aydin Ece, Vatan Kavak

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the contribution of nitric oxide NO on the relaxation effects of diethylstilbestrol on rat uterus. METHODS: Uterine rings from 8 nonpregnant Wistar Albino rats 300-350g in the pro-estrous phase were suspended in an organ bath and electrical field stimulation applied for recording isometric tension. The influence of NO on contractile responses of rat uterine rings was investigated. The effects of NO precursor L-arginine 10-7-10-4M concentration and NO synthase inhibitor L-nitro-arginine-methyl ester 10-7-10-4M concentration and a combination of them on contractile responses were studied in the presence and absence of diethylstilbestrol 2x10-4M concentration. The study was carried out …

Anatomical, Radiological And Histological Investigation Of The Great And Small Saphenous Veins, Ayla Kurkcuoglu, Tuncay Peker, Nadir Gulekon

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To provide information on superficial veins of the lower limb such as anatomic variations, valve distribution, termination forms, and histological properties of vein walls. METHODS: Two hundred greater saphenous veins in 200 patients and 10 cadavers were investigated. Ultrasound examinations were performed in the Department of Radiology, Ataturk Hospital between December 2004 and October 2005. RESULTS: The lateral accessory branch of the great saphenous vein was found in 75 persons while in 48 persons no major branch was encountered. In addition, medial accessory branch of the great saphenous vein was observed in 17 8.5% on both sides. The popliteal …

Comparison Of The Efficacy Of Combination And Monotherapy With Caspofungin And Liposomal Amphotericin B Against Invasive Candidiasis, Ozlem Tunger, Halim Bayram, Kenan Degerli, Gonul Dinc, Banu C. Cetin

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if combination therapy with liposomal amphotericin B LAmB, and caspofungin CAS is superior to monotherapies in an experimental model with azole-resistant Candida albicans METHODS: This study was carried out between October 2006 and August 2007 in Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey. A total of 144 mice were included in the study, and divided into 4 groups as: control n=36, CAS treatment group n=36, LAmB treatment group n=36, and combination therapy group n=36. Treatment efficacy was assessed by determining survival, as well as, the decrease in tissue fungal densities. RESULTS: The fungal densities in tissues were significantly reduced, …

Mandibular Morphology As It Relates To Ingestive And Digestive Folivory In Trachypithecus And Pygathrix, Barth Wright, Rika Prodhan, Kristin A. Wright, Tilo Nadler

Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

A Strategy To Equip Youth Leaders Into Developing Strategic, Balanced, And Strong Local Church Student Ministries, Richard Stanley Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to provide a strategy for a youth leader to comprehend the needed administrative elements of a successful local church student ministry so thoroughly that the youth leader can equip his leaders. The sources used are the Word of God, personal youth ministry experience, and external research. The key phrase used is “building a strategic, balanced, and strong” student ministry. The metaphor used is the construction of a building as it correlates to building a local church student ministry. The project emphasizes two major areas needed in student ministry: the necessary foundational components and the …

Origins Of The Y Genome In Elymus, Pungu Okito

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Triticeae tribe DUMORTER in the grass family (Poaceae) includes the most important cereal crops such as wheat, barley, and rye. They are also economically important forage grasses. Elymus is the largest and most complex genus with approximately 150 species occurring worldwide. Asia is an important centre for the origin and diversity of perennial species in the Triticeae tribe, and more than half of the Elymus are known to occur in the Asia. Cytologically, Elymus species have a genomic formula of StH, StP, StY, StStY, StHY, StPY, and StWY. About 40% of Elymus …

Scholarship @ Rit Spring 2008, Rit Libraries Publishing And Scholarship Support Center

RIT Digital Archives

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Shear On Performance And Microbial Ecology Of Continuously Stirred Anaerobic Digesters Treating Animal Manure, Rebecca A. Hoffmann, Marcelo L. Garcia, Mehul Veskivar, Khursheed Karim, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan, Largus T. Angenent

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We Determined the Effect of Different Mixing Intensities on the Performance, Methanogenic Population Dynamics, and Juxtaposition of Syntrophic Microbes in Anaerobic Digesters Treating Cow Manure from a Dairy Farm. Computer Automated Radioactive Particle Tracking in Conjunction with Computational Fluid Dynamics Was Performed to Quantify the Shear Levels Locally. Four Continuously Stirred Anaerobic Digesters Were Operated at Different Mixing Intensities of 1,500, 500, 250, and 50 Revolutions Per Min (RPM) over a 260-Day Period at a Temperature of 34 ± 1°C. Animal Manure at a Volatile Solids (VS) Concentration of 50 G/L Was Fed into the Digesters Daily at Five Different …

Childless Women In The Plays Of William Inge, Tennessee Williams, And Edward Albee, Suzanne Macdonald Winkel

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an examination of three major twentieth-century American playwrights—William Inge, Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee—and their dramatic use of childless women characters in Come Back, Little Sheba (1950), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962) respectively. Although the plays of Inge, Williams, and Albee have been analyzed individually by numerous scholars, they have not been studied together as works about procreation and childlessness. The study's historical focus is the post World War II era during which time the three plays proposed for analysis were written and produced. Commonly called the baby boom …

The Effects Of Attributional Style On Learning : Engagement As A Mediator, Courtney A. Hopkins

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This study investigated the effects of attributional style on learning outcomes, with engagement in learning as a mediator. A model was developed to depict this relationship, suggesting that attributional style affects learning both directly and indirectly, with academic and civic engagement as a mediator between attributional style and learning. Hypothesis 1 stated that attributional style is related to academic performance, such that students with a positive attributional style will exhibit higher academic performance than students with a negative attributional style. Hypothesis 2 stated that engagement mediates the relationship between attributional style and academic performance. The data used in this study …

Work, Alienation, And Humor : A Marxist Reading Of Samuel Beckett's "Murphy" And "Waiting For Godot", Catherine Keeran

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In this thesis, I look at Beckett’s Murphy and Waiting for Godot through a Marxist lens and argue that these texts can be read as a critique of modern alienation under capitalism. Through his narrator and characters, Beckett critiques and satirizes alienation and searches for alternatives to it in comedy and creative playfulness. Also, I argue that in these works writing itself emerges as non-alienated labor through which the creator, the central characters, and the readers/spectators can resist modem alienation. The first chapter examines Murphy in the light of Marx’s theory of the alienation of labor, the writings of Erich …