Digital Commons Network^™

Emerging Biotechnologies Demand Defeat Of Proposed Legislation That Attempts To Ban Gene Patents, Gregory C. Ellis

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

In October 2006, Andrew Fire and Craig Mello won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering a process known as RNA interference in the soil nematode Caenorhaditis elegans. More commonly known as RNAi, this process has great therapeutic significance for humans because of its ability to specifically and efficiently regulate gene expression. The capacity to easily regulate gene expression will tremendously impact our ability to combat a wide variety of disorders ranging from cancer to infectious diseases. While the mechanism of RNAi was first published within the last decade, three RNAi-based human therapies are already in clinical trails.

Persistence In Escherichia Coli And The Role Of Hipb And Hipb Interactions, Sean Thomas Keating

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Validation Of A Custom-Made Microarray To Study Human Intestinal Microflora, Harshavardhan Kenche

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Intestinal microflora refers to all the different species of bacteria that reside in the human gut and is an important organ of the human body because almost all the digestive reactions of the host occur in the intestine. The bacteria of the intestine play a key role in this process by supplementing the intestine with various enzymes and proteins that are required for the digestive process. At the same time, these bacteria were shown to be implicated in a variety of gastrointestinal disorders like Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Inflammatory Bowel Disorder and Gastrointestinal Cancer, but with the current knowledge about the …

A Bioarchaeological Perspective On Egyptian Colonialism In Nubia During The New Kingdom, Michele Buzon

Department of Anthropology Faculty Publications

During the New Kingdom, Egypt began a military campaign to regain command over Nubia. Extremely successful, their control extended to the fourth cataract by the time of Thutmose III. The circumstances of this power, however, are not well known. It is unclear whether Egyptian colonists or locals administered Nubia during this time. Using a bioarchaeological approach via the study of human skeletal remains and archaeological data from the New Kingdom site of Tombos in Nubia and comparative Egyptian and Nubian skeletal samples, this paper addresses these long-standing questions. Analysesuggest that the Tombos individuals were an ethnically and biologically mixed group. …

The Effects Of Cold Temperature On Gait Initiation And Dynamic Balance In Young And Older Females, Christi Brewer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Curating Chemistry Data Through Its Lifecycle: A Collaboration Between Library And Laboratory In Scientific Data Preservation, Jeremy R. Garritano, Jake R. Carlson

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Collaborating with the Center for Authentic Science Practice in Education (CASPiE), the Purdue University Libraries have created a model for the capture and preservation of data as part of the experimental workflow. In the CASPiE program, students work closely with a faculty researcher on a real world research problem and generate data using a networked system of scientific instrumentation. The data may pass through three stages in its lifecycle. First, the data is the student's record within the course and therefore has educational value. Second, the data also supports the scientist's work and therefore has research value. Finally, the data …

Composition And Seasonality Of Diet In Wild Hamadryas Baboons: Preliminary Findings From Filoha, Larissa Swedell, Getenet Hailemeskel, Amy Schreier

Publications and Research

Here we report the first year-round quantitative data on dietary composition and seasonality in wild hamadryas baboons. Study subjects were adult male members of Band 3 at the Filoha field site in central lowland Ethiopia. Data collection consisted of 10-minute focal samples during all-day follows 4-6 days per month over the course of one year. The two largest contributors to the diet were Hyphaene thebaica and Acacia senegal, and these were the only plant species found in the diet during every month of the year. Other relatively major contributors to the diet, such as Cyperus grandibulbosus, Seddera bagshawei, …

Passive Immunity To West Nile Virus Provides Limited Protection In A Common Passerine Species, Nicole M. Nemeth, Paul T. Oesterle, Richard A. Bowen

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Passerine birds have played an important role in the establishment, maintenance, and spread of West Nile virus (WNV) in North America, and some are susceptible to WNV-associated mortality. Characterization of passive transfer of anti-WNV antibodies in passerines is important to understanding transmission and demographic effects of WNV on wild birds. We showed passively acquired maternal antibodies to WNV in the house sparrow (Passer domesticus). Although all seropositive females (N = 18) produced antibody-positive egg yolks, only 20% of seropositive mothers (3/15) produced seropositive chicks. The estimated average half-life of maternal antibodies in chick sera was 3 days, …

Identifying Winter Forage Triticale (×Triticosecale Wittmack) Strains For The Central Great Plains, Lekgari A. Lekgari, P. Stephen Baenziger, Kenneth P. Vogel, David D. Baltensperger

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Triticale (×Triticosecale Wittmack) is mainly used as a forage crop in the central Great Plains. A successful triticale cultivar should have high forage yield with good quality, and also high grain yield so the seed can be economically produced. The purpose of this study was to evaluate existing triticale cultivars and experimental strains for their relative value in the central Great Plains as an annual hay crop primarily for feeding to beef cattle. Two experiments (one for forage yield and one for grain yield) were planted at two locations (one representing the arid Great Plains and the second representing …

Effects Of Atmospheric Co2 Enrichment On Crop Nutrient Dynamics Under No-Till Conditions, Stephen A. Prior, G. Brett Runion, Hugo H. Rogers, H. Allen Torbert

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentration could increase crop productivity and alter crop nutrient dynamics. This study was conducted (3 yrs) with two crops ([Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.]) grown under two CO₂ levels (ambient and twice ambient) using open top field chambers on a Blanton loamy sand under no-tillage. Macronutrient and micronutrient concentrations and contents were determined for grain, stover, and roots. Although elevated CO₂ tended to reduce nutrient concentrations, high CO₂ consistently increased nutrient content especially in grain tissue; this response pattern was more notable with macronutrients. The …

Social And Economic Aspects Of Areawide Pest Management, Sean P. Keenan, Paul A. Burgener

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

This chapter explores demonstration elements from the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service's demonstration programme for cereal aphid AWPM. We explore elements of the demonstration programme as agricultural innovations. We discuss potential adoption of these elements by wheat producers on the Great Plains and implications of the programme outcomes for other wheat-growing regions of the world. We begin with a history of research on the adoption of agricultural innovations, which provides the context for evaluating the cereal aphid programme from the perspective of farmer adoption. Chapter 19, this volume, by Kristopher Giles et al. provides a summary and …

Soil Quality Assessment: Past, Present And Future, Douglas L. Karlen, Susan S. Andrews, Brian J. Wienhold, Ted M. Zobeck

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Soil quality assessment may be one of the most contentious topics ever debated by the soil science community. Our objective is to examine the history, present status, and potential for using soil quality assessment as a tool to monitor soil physical, chemical, and biological effects of management decisions that may affect soil and water resources. Differences between inherent and dynamic soil quality and various approaches for assessment are identified and discussed. Four assessment indices, the Agroecosystem Performance Assessment Tool (AEPAT), Soil Conditioning Index (SCI), Cornell Soil Health Test, and Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) are examined. The SCI predicts changes …

Improvement Of Perennial Forage Species As Feedstock For Bioenergy, William Anderson, Michael Casler, Brian S. Baldwin

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Both native and non-native forage species other than switchgrass are less commonly considered as potential lignocellulosic feedstocks for bioenergy in the United States. These species hold potential as bioenergy feedstocks because of the experience and infrastructure that is already in place for management and harvest, and in certain areas of the country they have greater yield potential than switchgrass or other feedstocks. The forage grasses consist of temperate cool-season (most commonly C3) grasses as well as tropical or sub-tropical warm-season (C4) grasses. Some legume species may also play a significant role in supplying useful bioenergy feedstocks. Most have been researched …

Chapter 17. Nitrogen Management Modeling Techniques: Assessing Cropping Systems/Landscape Combinations, J. A. Delgado, M. J. Shaffer

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in production agriculture is often low, which results in losses of excess N to groundwater as NO₃-N, to gaseous emissions of NH₃ and N₂O, and to N losses in surface runoff and erosion. Best management practices (BMPs) are needed to improve efficiency levels while maintaining proper nutrition for crops. Field studies designed to investigate potential BMPs are both time consuming and costly, and cannot cover all scenarios. Application of simulation models with N cycling components in conjunction with associated field investigations offers methodology that can help identify BMPs that show promise …

Soil Properties And Macro Cations Status Impacted By Long-Term Applied Poultry Litter, Zhongqi He, Irenus A. Tazisong, Zachary N. Senwo, Donglin Zhang

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Most ethnic populations worldwide consume poultry products. Whereas poultry litter (PL) is a traditionally inexpensive and effective fertilizer to improve soil quality and agricultural productivity, overapplication to soils has raised concerns because excess nutrients in runoff could accelerate the eutrophication of fresh bodies of water. A long-term field experiment of land application of PL to soils used for pasture growth has been maintained for nearly two decades in the Sand Mountain region of north Alabama, USA. In this work, several soil parameters impacted by the long-term applied litter were characterized. The findings clearly support previous general observations that long-term applied …

Agricultural Certifications And Beekeeping: Lessons From An Apicultural Cooperative In Northeastern El Salvador, Central America, Jason Andrew Seagle

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Beekeeping, and especially the production and sale of honey, is an on-farm diversification strategy that has significance to rural livelihoods in some of the most economically and environmentally marginalized regions of the world. Beekeeping also supports sustainable agriculture since it requires that vegetation and forest cover remain intact. However, the limited resources of beekeepers, including marketing constraints, make it difficult for them to realize the full value of their beekeeping enterprises. This professional paper focuses on the Eco-Morazán Cooperative in El Salvador as a case study to examine the costs, benefits and market potential of three types of certification schemes: …

Pre- And Post-Copulatory Sexual Selection In The Tortoise Beetle Acromis Sparsa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Paula Alejandra Trillo

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Females in nearly all sexually reproducing taxa mate with multiple males. In these species, male fitness is dependent on traits used during both the pre-copulatory processes influencing mate acquisition, as well as the post-copulatory processes influencing fertilization. However, few studies have simultaneously examined pre- and post-copulatory sexual selection within a particular species, and we therefore have little understanding of how these processes interact to determine male reproductive success.

The objective of my study was to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the evolution of sexually selected traits by examining the interactions between pre- and post-copulatory processes in the tortoise beetle …

Happy Families - Translating Positive Psychology Into Family Law, Clare Huntington

Faculty Scholarship

Despite the well-documented finding in the field of positive psychology that close interpersonal relationships are significantly correlated with subjective well-being and thriving communities, scholars have yet to bring together positive psychology and family law. And what is family law if not the law of close interpersonal relationships? Positive psychology and related work have the potential to inform the what, the why, and the how of family law, but realizing the potential of positive psychology as a guide for family law involves challenges. In particular, it requires translating the descriptive science of psychology into the prescriptive policies of family law. This …

Catholic Social Teaching And Health Care For All, Patrick T. Mccormick M.S.

Verbum Incarnatum: An Academic Journal of Social Justice

Over 47 million Americans find themselves without health insurance in the richest and most Christian nation in the world. Catholic Social Teaching views this situation as an unjust violation of a basic human right to medical care, arguing that all persons have the right to those goods and services necessary for the proper development of life. In making this claim, Catholic Social Teaching advances three biblical principles: (1) that all persons are sacred and social, (2) that God hears the cries of the poor, and (3) that believers are directed to make a preferential option for the poor. In addition, …

Community Wellness Center: Providence, Rhode Islan, Eva Marie Mercurio

Architecture Theses and Projects

The Wellness Center in Providence, Rhode Island incorporates alternative medicine, medical, and dental facilities for the benefit and education of patients within and around surrounding neighborhoods as well as for others who reside outside the immediate area. These services, all of which are available in one centrally located area have the potential to captivate and entice those who are interested in creating a better lifestyle for themselves. A predominant focus of this facility is to instill and promote healthy lifestyles while at the same time educating the public who can contribute to a society and become capable of addressing and …

Evaluation Of Some Essential Element Levels In Thalassemia Major Patients In Mosul District, Iraq, Abdulmunaim H. Al-Samarrai, Mohaisen H. Adaay, Khudhair A. Al-Tikriti, Muayed M. Al-Anzy

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the levels of some essential elements in thalassemic patients in Mosul, Iraq. METHODS: One hundred and five thalassemic blood transfusion dependent children, 2.5-18 years of age attending Ibn-Al-Atheer teaching hospital in Mosul City, Iraq, during 2005, were used in this study. Fifty-four healthy subjects served as a control group. Patients were allocated in a non-randomized prospective cross-sectional hospital based study. Essential elements levels were estimated. The mean, standard deviation, correlation coefficient, and z-test were used. P-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Low serum zinc, and magnesium, and high serum copper, and potassium levels were found among the 105 thalassemic patients compared to the 54 controls. Levels of calcium, phosphate, and sodium were within normal limits. CONCLUSION: Fluctuations in the essential elements levels seem to be related to the different complications associated with the disease. Zinc deficiency may be attributed to hyperzincuria resulted from the release of Zn from hemolyzed red cells. Hypercupremia occurs in acute and chronic infections and hemochromatosis, which is a principal complication of thalassemia. Increased Na levels may be due to renal damage. Hypomagnesemia may occur due to hypoparathyroidism.

Anionic Salts In The Prepartum Diet And Addition Of Sodium Bicarbonate To Colostrum Replacer And Their Effects On Igg Absorption In The Neonate, Kimberley M. Morrill

Master's Theses and Capstones

Forty Holstein cows were assigned to a 2 X 2 factorial arrangement of treatments in a completely randomized block design to one of four treatments: basal diet and no sodium bicarbonate in the colostrum replacer; basal diet and supplemental sodium bicarbonate in the colostrum replacer; anionic salts and no sodium bicarbonate in the colostrum replacer; anionic salts and supplemental sodium bicarbonate in the colostrum replacer. Calves received two doses of colostrum replacer +/- sodium bicarbonate at 0 h, 1 dose of colostrum replacer +/- sodium bicarbonate at 6 hours and milk replacer at 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours. Calves …

Food, Drugs, And Droods: A Historical Consideration Of Definitions And Categories In American Food And Drug Law, Lewis Grossman

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This article explores the development and interaction of the legal and cultural categories food and drug from the late nineteenth century to the present. It is based not only on legal and historical research, but also on theories of category formation from the fields of linguistics and psychology. The scope of the Food and Drug Administration's power is defined primarily by the list of product categories over which it has jurisdiction. The statutory definitions of these categories (food, drug, cosmetic, device, and human biological product) thus delineate the outer boundaries of the arena within which the agency operates. The definitions …

The Vast Injustice Perpetuated By State And Local Tax Policy, Susan Pace Hamill

Articles

State and local tax policy is one of the most important areas of public policy affecting the lives of the most powerless and vulnerable segments of the population children from low income families Focusing on the funding of primary and secondary education especially in high poverty school districts and the scheme for allocating the tax burden this article empirically proves that all fifty states have unjust state and local tax policy with thirtyone states inflicting an extreme level of injustice on poor children and their families This article argues that the people in most states as well as their political …

Investigation Of Inosine And Hypoxanthine As Biomarkers Of Cardiac Ischemia In Plasma Of Non-Traumatic Chest Pain Patients And A Rapid Analytical System For Assessment, Don E. Farthing

Theses and Dissertations

Each year in the U.S., approximately 7-8 million patients with non-traumatic chest pain visit hospital emergency departments (ED) for medical evaluation. It is estimated that approximately 2-5% of these patients are experiencing acute cardiac ischemia, but due to the shortcomings of current test methods, they are incorrectly diagnosed and discharged without appropriate treatment provided, thus leading to poor patient outcome and potential medical malpractice litigation.The goals of this research were to evaluate plasma samples for potential biomarker(s) of acute cardiac ischemia prior to heart tissue necrosis, and to ultimately develop a rapid method for detection of the potential biomarker(s) in …

The Response Of Vascular Dermal Enodethial Cells To House Dust Mite Extracts, Aaron Mathew Newman

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

House dust mites are microscopic arthropods that can trigger moderate allergic symptoms such as sneezing, watery eyes, itching, and wheezing in sensitized individuals. People with more serious allergies to house dust mites can develop allergic diseases like atopic dermatitis and asthma. The effects of house dust mites on allergy sufferers make house dust mites and the study of their effects on the human body of great medical and economic importance. A majority of the research that has been done on house dust mite's effects on humans has dealt with the lungs and relevant disease like asthma. Little work has been …

Immunomodulation Of Human Skin Cells By Extracts Of The Scabies Mite, Sarcoptes Scabiei, Jeremi Stevan Mullins

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Sarcoptes scabiei infests its host through burrowing into the stratum corneum layer of skin. Keratinocytes and fibroblasts responding to the burrowing mite(s) and/or mite products produce inflammatory and immune activating cytokines and chemokines. The purpose of this study was to determine if an extract of S. scabiei can modulate cytokine and chemokine expression from keratinocytes and fibroblasts in vitro. Normal human keratinocytes and fibroblasts were exposed to an extract of S. scabiei var. canis with or without various pro-inflammatory stimuli. Cytokine and chemokine expression were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Scabies extract increased expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6), growth-related oncogene-α …

A Descriptive Study Of Parenting Styles, Parental Feeding Behaviors And Bmi Percentiles In School-Age Children And Adolescents, Stephanie Jane Smith

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The rising rate of obesity in the pediatric population has demanded further investigation from members of the health care community. Numerous exercise and nutrition programs have been developed to help combat the growing rate of obesity within the pediatric population but many lack the family-centered approach needed to achieve increased compliance with the prescribed plan of care. Both parenting styles and parental feeding behaviors have been shown to play a contributing role in the weight of children. According to previous research, the authoritarian parenting style often leads to an increased BMI in children. Research examining parental feeding behaviors indicates that …

Effects Of Sepsis On Nerve Evoked Responses, Kevin Richard Novak

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Sepsis and SIRS (systemic inflammatory response syndrome) have become two expensive and complicated problems seen in the intensive care unit (ICU). These two illnesses have been known to cause dysfunction with excitable tissues in the body. Encephalopathy, neuropathy, and myopathy are the three biggest. In this paper we discuss the development of an animal model of sepsis and the neurological complications sepsis brought about. Nerve conduction studies showed increased durations on compound muscle action potential, and decreased amplitude as well as increased duration and latency on sensory nerve action potentials. These results were not consistent with the two most common …

Effects Of Subcutaneous Postnatal Choline Supplementation On Hippocampus-Mediated Learning And Memory In Rat Pups, Jeremy Alan Moore

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The effects of postnatal injections of choline on the acquisition of two variants of eyeblink conditioning were examined in developing Long-Evans rat pups. Choline administration on postnatal days (PND) 15-27 was followed by evaluation of trace eyeblink conditioning (Experiment 1) and delay eyeblink conditioning (Experiment 2) on PND 28-29. The results of these experiments show that choline produced greater improvements in learning and memory during the trace condition than in the delay condition, presumably due to its effect on the hippocampus. Trace eyeblink conditioning relies heavily on an intact hippocampus but delay eyeblink conditioning does not, and it is understood …