Digital Commons Network^™

Phytoplankton As Indicators For Eutrophication In Europe's Regional Seas, Abigail Mcquatters-Gollop

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Eutrophication of marine and coastal waters is a growing concern throughout Europe's regional seas and an historical problem in the Black Sea and regions of the North-East Atlantic, particularly the North Sea. As the base of the marine pelagic food web, phytoplankton are sensitive indicators of environmental change and therefore may be used as indicators of eutrophication for the monitoring, management and mitigation of the effects of nutrient loading on coastal and marine ecosystems. However, due to the interactive effects of climate and eutrophication, it can be difficult to separate the climate-driven response of phytoplankton from changes induced by excess …

An Investigation Into The I-Stat Chem8+ System For The Measurement Of Sodium, Potassium, Urea & Creatinine., Gene Ferris

Theses

In the hospital environment Point of Care Testing (POCT) can be an invaluable tool in Emergency departments, Theatres, Intensive Care Units and Paediatric wards by providing rapid test results without the need for transport and laboratory processing. The study design included the collection and duplicate analysis of patient samples firstly using the i-STAT and then on the Architect c8000, a routine laboratory analyser. Statistical analysis was performed in order to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in results between the i-STAT POCT system and current laboratory instrumentation. The parameters analysed were the vital biochemical parameters Sodium (Na), Potassium …

Urine Protein Electrophoresis: Comparison Of Agarose Gel And Capillary Zone Electrophoretic Techniques., Anne-Marie Curtin

Theses

Proteinuria is the excess excretion of protein in the urine and is found in a variety of conditions including renal diseases and neoplastic conditions such as multiple myeloma (MM). The investigation of proteinuria type through the use of electrophoresis is a useful and widely used non-invasive diagnostic tool. The aim of this study was to compare various agarose gel and capillary zone electrophoresis techniques in order to establish a method choice for the separation of protein in routine laboratories. Comparisons were made based on urine monoclonal peak quantification and protein fractions detected. An examination of a capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) …

Development Of An Automated Method For Csf Bilirubin Measurement., Helen Caverley

Theses

Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is a potentially fatal condition which can be difficult to accurately diagnose. Patients often present with a second bleed which can be more damaging than the initial bleed. Diagnosis of SAH centres on computed tomography (CT) scans. However, 2% of patients positive for SAH will present as negative on CT scans. It is recommended that these patients have lumbar puncture and the CSF is analysed for bilirubin. The presence of bilirubin is suggestive of SAH. Spectrophotometric scanning involves expensive equipment which is often not available in routine settings. A need exists for a robust, inexpensive, automated method …

Design Of A Multiplex Pcr Assay For The Detection Of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae., Elizabeth J. O'Callaghan

Theses

The incidence of N. gonorrhoeae infections in Ireland has been steadily increasing since 2003. Culture is currently the preferred method of diagnosis, however the sensitivity of culture can be low. In recent years there has been increased interest in non-culture techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Many of the PCR assays available have been shown to cross-react with commensal organisms, producing false positive results. This study aimed to improve the detection of N. gonorrhoeae by designing a multiplex PCR assay that used two N. gonorrhoeae genes as targets, thereby providing dual detection and confirmation of a positive result. PCR …

Epidemiology And Drug Resistant Profiles Of Candida Species, In Cork Hospitals., Emma Mccurtin

Theses

Candida causes superficial infections in healthy individuals; however in the immunocompromised host Candida can cause invasive, systemic infections and is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. This is not due to a more virulent phenotype but to a weakened immune system unable to fight this opportunistic pathogen. The immunocompromised population is ever increasing, due to medical advancements and more aggressive treatments, and hence is the need for epidemiological data of these potentially life threatening infections. The aim of this study was to provide an epidemiological snapshot, of Candida infections from the immunocompromised population in Cork hospitals. Surveillance programmes from …

Orthogonal Cutting Of Bone, Donal Mccrohan

Theses

The cutting of bone has been undertaken for many centuries. Research in this area is contnually progressing to achieve an efficient cutting action while reducing recovery time and rauma to the patient.

Orthogonal cutting is defined where the cutting edge of the tool is set in a position that is perpendicular to the direction of relative work or tool motion. The failure mechanisms involved in the cutting of bone, their direct relationships to cutting tool geometry and cutting direction for orthogonal cutting are not accurately defined or quantified. A study of the orthogonal cutting behaviour of bone initiated in the …

Mupirocin Resistance In Staphylococci: An Investigation Of Current Status And Potential Alternative Therapies, Susan O'Shea

Theses

Mupirocin is a topical antibiotic used in hospital infection control practices to control transmission of staphylococci, in particular MRSA, which has become a major problem in Irish hospitals and has a significant impact on patient morbidity and mortality. Overreliance on mupirocin to eradicate MRSA carriage and to prevent infection has led to mupirocin resistance among staphylococcal species. Two distinct types of resistance have developed within strains: low'-level mupirocin resistance (LMR) and high-level mupirocin resistance (HMR).

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and types of mupirocin resistance in a large population of clinical staphylococcal isolates including Methicillin …

Clostridium Difficile: Comparative Evaluation Of Two Detection Techniques And Characterisation Of Clinical Isolates., Rebecca Dennehy

Theses

Clostridium difficile is one of the most common causes of antibiotic associated diarrhoea. The presence of C difficile in stool samples may be detected by a variety of means including enzyme immunoassays and culture. Enzyme immunoassays detect the presence of the toxins produced by the organism, toxin A and/or toxin B, but are known to lack sensitivity. The aim of this study was to compare the commercial ELISA assay currently used for the detection of C difficile toxins in Waterford Regional Hospital to culture for the organism to selective media. To compare the sensitivity of the two methods serial dilutions …

Evaluation Of An Augmentation Of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep At Badlands National Park, South Dakota, Teresa J. Zimmerman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Audubon’s (a.k.a. Badlands) bighorn (Ovis canadensis auduboni [Merriam 1901] now O. c. Canadensis [Shaw 1804]), described as a subspecies of bighorn sheep, was extirpated from its range by 1924. In 1964, 22 Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep were translocated from Pikes Peak, Colorado, to Badlands National Park (BNP) in southwestern South Dakota. Based on the estimated effective population size and analysis of molecular data, the bighorn sheep population at BNP underwent a population bottleneck at founding. Recommendations to restore genetic diversity in the BNP population included a mixed-sex augmentation (n > 30) from an outbred, native population of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. …

Artificial Insemination And The Family, Priyasha Saksena

National Law School of India Review

The traditional notion of a family involves a group of persons who are linked by blood and affinity, with the adult members responsible for the care of the children. However, the traditional paradigm of a family is fast being eroded, with the discovery of new methods of artificial reproduction and a change in societal mindsets, making other forms of family structures acceptable. Family law however is still based on the traditional notion of a family, and seems unable to adapt to the changing times. This article is an attempt to examine some of the dilemmas that arise due the use …

Patenting Of Research Tools - Issues And Some Pointers, Zakir Thomas

National Law School of India Review

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the patenting of research tools. It outlines the essentials of research tools and addresses the concerns that have cropped up in the post-Genomic era with a special emphasis on the issue of access. It further evaluates the issue from a legal perspective against the backdrop of the TRIPS Agreement and makes a comparative analysis between jurisdictions. It also gives an overview of the possible consequences of such patenting for India and concludes by recommending amendments to tackle the challenges raised.

Patent Judicial Wisdom, Srividhya Raghavan

National Law School of India Review

The project of harmonisation of patent laws around the world under the aegis of the TRIPS Agreement has interacted with national policies and objectives in respect of patents in both developed and developing countries. This interaction has been mediated through the judiciary and the pervasive influence of the judiciary has been essential for the success enjoyed so far. However, the localised perspectives of the judiciary have also hindered the global project of harmonisation to a significant extent as divergent standards and approaches have come forth in spite of similar statutory foundations. This article seeks to analyse specific illustrations that highlight …

Polyaniline Nanofiber-Based Gas Sensors, Zhe-Fei Li, Frank D. Blum, Massimo F. Bertino, Chang-Soo Kim

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

There has been recent interest in conducting polymers that have very promising chemical and electrical applications. Some of these polymers have shown great potential for use in sensors.1 Polyaniline is one particular example of a prospective material. In our laboratory, we have studied the synthesis of polyaniline nanofibers. We have carried out one-pot syntheses to obtain polyaniline nanofibers in aqueous solutions where the polymerization was influenced by γ-radiation2 or UV-radiation.3 This polymer can also be patterned with an appropriate photo mask. In our present report, polyaniline nanofiber thin film sensors have been fabricated in one step by employing UV-irradiation and …

Attitudes Towards Managing The Work-Family Interface: The Role Of Gender And Social Background, Melrona Kirrane, Kathy Monks

Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies

The effective management of the work-life interface is an issue increasingly recognised as of strategic importance to organisations and of significance to employees (Forsyth & Polzer-Dedruyne, 2007; Nord et al., 2002; Russell & Bowman, 2000). A pan-European investigation (Brannen et al., 2002) concluded that young Irish people characterize the two domains of work and family as operating in conflict with each other. Given the high rate of workforce participation in the Irish labour market, and the corporate imperative of effective retention strategies (Messersmith, 2007; Cappelli, 2000), understanding how this perspective may influence behavioural intentions with respect to managing the work-family …

Thirteen-Year-Old Girls: Tales Of School Transition And Feminine Identity, Thienhuong Hoang

Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies

This paper is based on an ethnographic multi-method study, involving interviews, focus groups, diaries and observation. It explores some of the tales of thirteen-year-old female students who told about their experiences of growing up and making the transition from primary to secondary school. The paper argues that their experiences of growing up and changing schools were not a simple, linear process, but involved feelings of intense pleasure and tremendous pain. Building on a growing body of literature concerned with the experience of growing-up, this paper seeks to highlight the multiple ways in which these female students negotiated this phase of …

Accurate Retrieval Of Structural Information From Laser-Induced Photoelectron And High-Order Harmonic Spectra By Few-Cycle Laser Pulses, Toru Morishita, Anh-Thu Le, Zhangjin Chen, C. D. Lin

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

By analyzing accurate theoretical results from solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation of atoms in few-cycle laser pulses, we established the general conclusion that laser-generated high-energy electron momentum spectra and high-order harmonic spectra can be used to extract accurate differential elastic scattering and photo-recombination cross sections of the target ion with free electrons, respectively. Since both electron scattering and photoionization (the inverse of photo-recombination) are the conventional means for interrogating the structure of atoms and molecules, this result implies that existing few-cycle infrared lasers can be implemented for ultrafast imaging of transient molecules with temporal resolution of a few femtoseconds.

What's Wrong With Litigation-Driven Science? An Essay In Legal Epistemology, Susan Haack

Articles

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of A Simple Intervention To Increase Self- Efficacy For Independent Exercise In Cardiac Rehabilitation Participants, Sherry A. Barkley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: While benefits of exercise after a cardiac event are well documented, participation in and adherence to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs is often low. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a self- efficacy coaching intervention (SCI): a simple theory-based behavioral intervention to increase self-efficacy for independent exercise as well as independent exercise behavior in CR patients. It was hypothesized that persons receiving the SCI treatment (T) would have higher levels of self-efficacy for exercise and greater participation in independent exercise than participants in an attention control (C) group.
Methods: People referred to a hospitalbased CR …

Rethinking Sharing Licenses For The Entertainment Media, Eric E. Johnson

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Clark University Academic Catalog [2007-2008], Clark University

Clark University Academic Catalogs

Annual academic catalog for the 2007-2008 academic year at Clark University.

Clark University academic catalogs contain academic announcements, course listings and descriptions, degrees and degree requirements, registers of instructor and administrator names, information on buildings and grounds, Clark history, and more. They have had various titles throughout the decades, but for consistency we collectively refer to them as academic catalogs across all titles.

Is What We Want What We Need, And Can We Get It In Writing? The Third-Wave Of Feminism Hits The Beach Of Modern Parentage Presumptions, Carol A. Beier, Larkin E. Walsh

University of Baltimore Law Forum

Modern statutes on parentage regarding artificial insemination and the cases that have interpreted them reflect the explosion of family gender roles by second-wave feminism. Although a natural father now is generally expected to share the rights and obligations of parentage with a natural mother, this is not so if he is a mere contributor of biological material. Are the modern presumptions underlying such statutes, what we used to want, what we have come to need? Or, is current law too much a reflection of the essentialism for which the second-wave is sometimes justly criticized?

Third-wave individualism and resistance to inflexible …

Influence Of Desertification On Site Occupancy By Grassland And Shrubland Birds During The Non-Breeding Period In The Northern Chihuahuan Desert, M. Sofia Agudelo, Martha J. Desmond, Leigh Murray

Studies in Avian Biology

No abstract provided.

Biology And Natural History, Lawrence J. Niles, Humphrey P. Sitters, Amanda D. Dey, Philip W. Atkinson, Allan J. Baker, Karen A. Bennett, Roberto Carmona, Kathleen E. Clark, Nigel A. Clark, Carmen Espoz, Patricia M. González, Brian A. Harrington, Daniel E. Hernández, Kevin S. Kalasz, Richard G. Lathrop, Ricardo N. Matus, Clive D. T. Minton, R. I. Morrison, Mark K. Peck, William Pitts, Robert A. Robinson, Inês L. Serrano

Studies in Avian Biology

No abstract provided.

Appendices, Lawrence J. Niles, Humphrey P. Sitters, Amanda D. Dey, Philip W. Atkinson, Allan J. Baker, Karen A. Bennett, Roberto Carmona, Kathleen E. Clark, Nigel A. Clark, Carmen Espoz, Patricia M. González, Brian A. Harrington, Daniel E. Hernández, Kevin S. Kalasz, Richard G. Lathrop, Ricardo N. Matus, Clive D. T. Minton, R. I. Morrison, Mark K. Peck, William Pitts, Robert A. Robinson, Inês L. Serrano

Studies in Avian Biology

No abstract provided.

Preface, Janet M. Ruth, Timothy Brush, David J. Krueper

Studies in Avian Biology

No abstract provided.

Habitat Use Of Wintering Bird Communities In Sonora, Mexico - The Importance Of Riparian Habitats, Jose Fernando Villasenor-Gomez

Studies in Avian Biology

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Studies In Avian Biology

Studies in Avian Biology

No abstract provided.

Distribution In Time And Space, Lawrence J. Niles, Humphrey P. Sitters, Amanda D. Dey, Philip W. Atkinson, Allan J. Baker, Karen A. Bennett, Roberto Carmona, Kathleen E. Clark, Nigel A. Clark, Carmen Espoz, Patricia M. González, Brian A. Harrington, Daniel E. Hernández, Kevin S. Kalasz, Richard G. Lathrop, Ricardo N. Matus, Clive D. T. Minton, R. I. Morrison, Mark K. Peck, William Pitts, Robert A. Robinson, Inês L. Serrano

Studies in Avian Biology

No abstract provided.

Population Size And Trends, Lawrence J. Niles, Humphrey P. Sitters, Amanda D. Dey, Philip W. Atkinson, Allan J. Baker, Karen A. Bennett, Roberto Carmona, Kathleen E. Clark, Nigel A. Clark, Carmen Espoz, Patricia M. González, Brian A. Harrington, Daniel E. Hernández, Kevin S. Kalasz, Richard G. Lathrop, Ricardo N. Matus, Clive D. T. Minton, R. I. Morrison, Mark K. Peck, William Pitts, Robert A. Robinson, Inês L. Serrano

Studies in Avian Biology

No abstract provided.