Digital Commons Network^™

An Epidemiological Study Of Maternal Depression: Findings From The National Institute Of Child Health And Human Development Study Of Early Child Care And Youth Development., Liang Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined maternal depression status from month 1 to 36 after birth using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Maternal depression was assessed with the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The prevalence of maternal depression was highest at 1 month, decreased at 6 months, and then kept fairly stable to 36 months. The prevalence was higher in blacks than other races, in 18-24 than 25-46 years old, and in single mothers than non-single mothers. Mothers with better physical health, social support, or employed had a lower prevalence than their counterparts. Mothers in …

Radical Religious Rebels: The Rise And Fall Of Jerry Falwell And The Moral Majority., Andrew Francis Bell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I intend to illustrate the impact that Jerry Falwell had upon the rise of religious fundamentalism within the United States during the latter part of the 20th century. By elucidating the various factors that led Jerry Falwell from a little-known minister from Lynchburg, Virginia to becoming the figurehead of the movement known as the Religious Right, I wish to show how one of more controversial figures in both the religious and political spheres of contemporary American history became one of the more influential and infamous men of recent times. By focusing on the predecessors of Jerry Falwell …

Amphetamine Sensitization And In Vivo Microdialysis Of The Nucleus Accumbens Core Of Adult Male And Female Rats D2-Primed As Neonates., Zackary Adam Cope

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neonatal administration of quinpirole produces significant increases in D₂ receptor sensitivity that persists into adulthood. This phenomenon, known as D₂ receptor priming, is consistent with pathology in schizophrenia. Rats were administered quinpirole or saline postnatally and raised to adulthood. In adulthood, rats were administered d-amphetamine sulfate or saline every other day and were placed in a locomotor arena where activity was measured over 7 trials. Results showed that D₂-primed rats receiving amphetamine were higher in locomotor activity across all days of testing compared to other groups. This effect was more prominent in males than in females. …

Characterization Of The Pathway Leading To The Synthesis Of Salicylic Acid In Plants Resisting Pathogen Infection., Alexander Eddo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Salicylic acid is a plant hormone that accumulates with plant-pathogen interaction. This accumulation corresponds to the plant being resistant to infection and without it the plant is susceptible. In this study, primers of genes involved in the normal synthesis of SA were used in RT-PCR to compare gene expression levels in susceptible and resistant plants challenged with tobacco mosaic virus. Because SA synthesis shares chorismate as a common substrate with the synthesis of aromatic amino acids, HPLC was used to determine whether the increase in SA could be attributed to a decrease in amino acid levels. The results suggest that …

Synthesis Of Novel Agrochemicals As Potential Plant Immunization Agents., Arrey Besong Enyong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The world's population is expected to grow from 6 billion to about 10 billion by 2050. The greatest population increase is expected to occur in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. To feed a world with huge increases in population and to sustain the well-being of humans, a large increase in food production must be achieved. The projected increase in food production must be accomplished on the existing cultivated areas because the expansion of new land is limited by environmental concerns, urbanization and increasing water scarcity.

Different compounds have been developed for the "immunization" of plants against several pathogens. These compounds …

Exploring Expression-Based Apprehension In Online And Traditional Sections Of A General Education, Introductory Communication Course., Tabitha Leah Bailey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Apprehension negatively impacts student learning. As online and hybrid communication courses continue to be offered it is important to expand and update research regarding the following constructs: communication apprehension, receiver apprehension, writing apprehension, and computer apprehension. This study examines correlations between and among these constructs, differences by gender and course format, and changes between pre- and posttest results. Students enrolled in traditional and online sections of a basic communication course completed pre- and posttests consisting of a demographic survey, the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, the Receiver Apprehension Test, the Writing Apprehension Test, and the Computer and Web Attitude Scale. …

Identification Of Chlamydial Iron-Responsive Proteins During Intracellular Growth., Brian D. Dill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular bacterium and the most prevalent cause of bacterial sexually transmitted disease. Genital chlamydial infections, marked by chronic, intense inflammation, can lead to genital tissue scarring and infertility and is a contributing factor to development of pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy. Iron is required as a cofactor for numerous highly conserved pathways, and nearly all studied organisms rely on iron for growth. In response to iron restriction, the chlamydial developmental cycle arrests at the intracellular reticulate body stage, resulting in a phenomenon termed persistence. Persistence likely plays a role in chlamydial pathogenesis through the …

Monitoring Metal Containing Particulates Distribution On A College Campus Using Dandelion (Taraxacum Officinale) Leaves As Receptors., Suresh Chandra Regmi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to determine the distribution of particulates carrying heavy metals at selected sites on a college campus using dandelion leaves as collectors. As a comparison, sites far away from the campus surrounding Bristol Motor Speedway Car Racing Stadium were also monitored. To reduce the probability of memory effects from the long-term atmospheric deposition or absorption of metals from soil a seasonal plant, dandelion, was used to monitor the metal contents. The metals monitored are cadmium, calcium, copper, chromium, iron, lead, and zinc. Fourteen sites were monitored and samples were collected once a week initially (growing time of the …

Characterization Of Heat Shock Protein A12b As A Novel Angiogenesis Regulator., Rebecca J. Steagall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previously, we cloned Heat shock protein A12B (HspA12B), the newest member of a recently defined subfamily of proteins distantly related to the Hsp70 family that are enriched in atherosclerotic lesions. We have found that HspA12B is predominantly expressed in vascular endothelium, and that it is involved in angiogenesis which we probed by in vitro angiogenesis assays (Matrigel), migration assays and Directed In Vivo Angiogenesis Assay (DIVAA). Hsp70s are molecular chaperones that are inducible by stress and have been found to be anti-apoptotic (Li et al. 2000; Nylandsted et al. 2000; Garrido et al. 2001). Because of its homology to Hsp70, …

Extended Life Flight Results From The Genesat-1 Biological Microsatellite Mission, Giovanni Minelli, Christopher Kitts, Karolyn Ronzano, Christopher Beasley, Richard Rasay, Igancio Mas, Phelps Williams, Paul Mahacek, John Shepard, Jose Acain, John Hines, Elwood Agasid, Charlie Friedericks, Matthew Piccini, Macarena Parra, Linda Timucin, Mike Henschke, Ed Luzzi, Nghia Mai, Mike Mcintyre, Robert Ricks, David Squires, Chris Storment, John Tucker, Bruce Yost, Greg Defouw, Antonio Ricco

Small Satellite Conference

The Genesat-1 technology demonstration mission validated the use of research quality instrumentation for in situ biological research and processing. After its launch from Wallops Flight Facility as a secondary payload off a Minotaur launch vehicle on December 16, 2006, all primary science and engineering test objectives were completed successfully within one month of operation. Since that time, additional trend analyses and experiments have been performed to further quantify the performance of the bus; such quantification is of particular interest for at least five heritage-based missions currently in development, three of which are set to launch in 2008 and two slated …

If You Build It, Who Will Come? Identifying Markets For Low-Cost Small Satellites, Jeff Foust, David Vaccaro, Chad Frappier, Dustin Kaiser

Small Satellite Conference

Technological advances in small satellites have opened up new markets beyond their traditional role of technology demonstration applications, but which markets would be most receptive to smallsats, and how large those markets might be, are critical unanswered questions. To determine the potential market for a notional lowcost smallsat, Futron Corporation performed a market definition study. The first step of this process was to identify all the potential markets that could be served by a notional low-cost smallsat. Through a process of secondary research and interviews with smallsat manufacturers, Futron identified over 30 potential markets in the military, civil/commercial communications, civil/commercial …

Ccu Newsletter, August 11, 2008, Coastal Carolina University

Coastal Carolina University Newsletter

Coastal Carolina University's weekly on-campus newsletter.

Aging Of Sand – A Continuing Enigma?, James K. Mitchell

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Sand aging, a process during which the engineering properties of clean sands such as stiffness, penetration resistance and liquefaction resistance may exhibit considerable improvement over periods of only weeks to months after deposition and/or densification by different ground improvement processes, has been shown over the past 30 years to be of considerable practical importance. Numerous examples from a range of projects are presented. Chemical, physical-mechanical, and microbiological processes are examined relative to their adequacy for explaining the observed behavior. Although chemical precipitation-cementation reactions had initially been considered a primary cause, the evidence clearly favors a secondary compression-like process during which …

Microbiological Improvement Of The Physical Properties Of Soil, Edward Kavazanjian Jr., Ismail Karatas

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

The application of microbiological processes for improvement of the physical properties of soils offers the promise of sustainable, cost effective, non-disruptive ground improvement for a variety of geotechnical problems. Potentially beneficial applications of microbiological processes include increasing the stiffness of soil to reduce settlement and lateral deformations, increasing shear strength to enhance foundation bearing capacity and slope stability and to facilitate excavation and tunneling, reducing the susceptibility of granular soil to earthquake-induced liquefaction, reducing swell (expansion) potential of fine grained soil, and reducing permeability for groundwater control. Microbiological processes that can potentially be employed for these applications include mineral precipitation, …

Community-Based Long-Term Care In Milwaukee: Wisconsin Still Ahead, Judith D. Moore, Carol O'Shaughnessy, Lisa Sprague

National Health Policy Forum

The National Health Policy Forum has made two site visits to Wisconsin in two years. The first, in August 2007, focused on an overview of Family Care, the state's managed long-term care program, and looking at service delivery in a rural setting. The August 2008 site visit focused on the operations of MCOs and Family Care service providers in the urban environment of Milwaukee. Issues examined included the link between housing and social services, care management, capitation and rate-setting, measuring quality, and integrating people with disabilities into a program that initially targeted the elderly.

Destructive Water-Borne Pressure Waves, Gregory L. Hempen

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Many energetic sources (blasting, pile-driving, seismic exploration, …) near or within a water body may produce destructive, water-borne pressure waves. Pressure waves of sufficient amplitude can impact water-side structures and aquatic fauna. Such energetic sources produce pressure waves and cavitation that can cause concrete to spall, deform metal sheets that are near to the source, kill aquatic organisms, and/or damage hearing of marine mammals at large distances. Any program (energetic systems) that causes pressure waves within the water layer may be conducted in a manner that reduces the pressure waves’ severity. The methodology to reduce pressure waves does not need …

Practical Lessons From Failure Of A Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall On A Major Highway, P. Jagannatha Rao

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

A “Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall” (RSR) wall of 10.5m height collapsed about 5 years after construction. HDPE geogrids were used as reinforcement. The facia panels suffered outward movements during construction and the deformations continued to increase. A 16m long stretch of the RSR wall failed and the failure wedge cut through four layers of reinforcement. The paper analyses the role of different factors in causing the failure. Tension tests were carried out on the geogrids exhumed from the failed zone. A significant loss in the strength of these grids was found which may be attributed to the high ambient temperatures …

Lessons Learned From Closing Three Major Landfills – The Devil Really Is In The Details, R. Jeffrey Dunn

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

During the past 30 years the author has been involved in a number of landfill closure projects. No two were ever the same, and all were interesting. Three closure projects stand out for the level of effort involved, the rigor of regulatory review, and the issues that occurred during construction, a number of which could have been headed off during design. One site was a major hazardous waste disposal facility and Superfund site; the second, the Fresno Sanitary Landfill, was the oldest sanitary landfill for municipal solid waste in the United States, having opened in 1937 and is also a …

Review Of Lunar Regolith Properties For Design Of Low Power Lunar Excavators, Leslie S. Gertsch, Jamal Rostami, Robert Gustafson

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Lunar regolith is the product of the intermittent comminution of rocks over extremely long durations, and as such is very different from familiar terrestrial soils. A limited amount of information on lunar regolith was collected by the Apollo space program for a few locations. Additional data is required to design effective excavators to prepare outpost sites and to mine the feedstock for production of the material required for a self-sustaining crewed base on the moon. On-site manufacturing would reduce significantly the mass of material that must be launched from Earth. This paper discusses what is known and what is yet …

Deterioration Of Bored Cast In Situ Piles Due To Aggressive Water, V. T. Ganpule, S. Y. Mhaiskar

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Most of the data available from the cement industry and the literature exhibits performance of concrete cubes cured in normal water. Even the literature related to the durability of concrete deals mostly with concrete cured in normal water (closer to potable water in characteristics). However, the bored-cast-in-situ piles are cured in the ground water. The development of strength of concrete of bored cast-in-situ piles depends upon the quality of ground water. The effect of sulphates and chloride is well established and most of the codes stipulate permissible limits of pH, sulphates and chlorides contents in the ground water. In the …

Using New Signal Processing Techniques In Analyzing Masjed Soleyman Embankment Dam's Explosion Records, M. Davoodi, M. K. Jafari, M. Amel Sakhi

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Blasting test studies have one drawback with regard to earthquake studies; they are concerned with vibrations of much smaller amplitude than those normally encountered in earthquakes. Consequently, blasting studies can be used to calibrate dam behavior in a linear elastic range. Accuracy of numerical models should be improved by full scale tests and in situ earthquake records. In this research, first of all a short review of different classical and modern signal processing methods is presented. As it is known, classical signal processing methods, such as FFT and PSD, have many limitations in non- stationary random vibration analysis. Blasting records …

Mechanically Reinforced Earth For Steep Surcharge Slopes In Proximity Of Adjacent Structures To Improve Compressible Soils, Hiren J. Shah, Hugh S. Lacy, Matthew B. Van Rensler

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

For a large scale expansion of an existing wastewater treatment plant in Virginia, constructing shallow foundations after surcharging to pre-consolidate the compressible soils at the site was found to be the most attractive foundation option. A detailed geotechnical investigation was performed to characterize the site stratigraphy and soil properties. Many of the tall and steep surcharge embankments were in close proximity of existing operating structures and utilities. Such tall and steep surcharge slopes were designed and constructed of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE). Due to the complex slope geometries, subsurface conditions and nearby critical utilities and existing structures, each MSE slope …

The Indispensable Role Of Case Histories In Landfill Engineering, Edward Kavazanjian Jr.

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Documented case histories are perhaps even more essential to the practice of landfill engineering than to other aspects of geotechnical practice. Case histories are particularly important to landfill engineering because of difficulties in sampling and testing representative materials and the non-homogeneous nature of many landfills. Case histories play an essential role in the evaluation of static and dynamic properties of waste, in identifying potential performance problems and failure mechanisms, and in demonstrating that laboratory interface shear testing can be relied upon to predict field behavior of liner and cover systems. Case histories have proven to be essential in establishing appropriate …

Ethnojournalism: A Hybrid Model Of Ethnography And Journalism To Create Culturally Diverse News Content, Valica Boudry

Theses and Dissertations

This research's purpose is twofold: to study a newsroom culture to see how news is constructed and to change the approach reporters take to constructing news using ethnojournalism, a hybrid model of ethnography and journalism. The core part of this research focuses on the training of reporters in the use of ethnographic techniques to use in newsgathering. The underlying reason was to see if the ethnojournalism approach would promote culturally diverse story selection and content in newspaper stories. This research addresses the issue that the dominant paradigm in journalism is not objective in the scientific sense of objectivity. It is …

Board Of Directors Meeting Minutes (August 11, 2008), Dmacc

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

This file contains the minutes from the Des Moines Area Community College Board meeting held on August 11, 2008.

A Cyclin D1/Microrna 17/20 Regulatory Feedback Loop In Control Of Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation., Zuoren Yu, Chenguang Wang, Min Wang, Zhiping Li, Mathew C Casimiro, Manran Liu, Kongming Wu, James Whittle, Xiaoming Ju, Terry Hyslop, Peter Mccue, Richard G Pestell

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

Decreased expression of specific microRNAs (miRNAs) occurs in human tumors, which suggests a function for miRNAs in tumor suppression. Herein, levels of the miR-17-5p/miR-20a miRNA cluster were inversely correlated to cyclin D1 abundance in human breast tumors and cell lines. MiR-17/20 suppressed breast cancer cell proliferation and tumor colony formation by negatively regulating cyclin D1 translation via a conserved 3' untranslated region miRNA-binding site, thereby inhibiting serum-induced S phase entry. The cell cycle effect of miR-17/20 was abrogated by cyclin D1 siRNA and in cyclin D1-deficient breast cancer cells. Mammary epithelial cell-targeted cyclin D1 expression induced miR-17-5p and miR-20a expression …

Adrenergic Modulation Of Ca1 Neuron Activity, Kristin L. Hillman

Theses and Dissertations

Adrenergic receptors (ARs) represent a family of G protein-coupled receptors endogenously activated by norepinephrine and epinephrine. One area of the brain where AR activation modulates cellular activity is CA1 hippocampus, however it is not known which AR subtypes are specifically involved, nor the mechanism behind the AR-mediated changes in activity. The goal of this study was thus two-fold; (1) Identify the specific AR subtypes expressed in CA1, and (2) Identify the mechanism by which AR activation changes CA1 neuron excitability. I set forth the hypothesis that α1B-AR activation initiates phospholipase C (PLC) signaling in CA1 interneurons, causing them to depolarize …

Adequacy Of Labor Epidural Information For Informed Consent, Darla J. Adams

Theses and Dissertations

Legally and ethically, obtaining informed consent for labor epidural analgesia means that the patient has a substantial understanding of the risks and benefits of the procedure. The purpose of this study was to determine if labor epidural analgesia education provided by Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) to expectant women during antenatal childbirth education classes improved the recall of risks associated with labor epidural analgesia. This study also determined pregnant women's sources of labor epidural information and the perceived adequacy of that information. The role of the antenatal childbirth education class as an opportunity for labor epidural education from trained anesthesia …

Communication And Pandemic Preparedness In Rural Critical Access Hospitals, Stuart A. Schneider

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the increasing likelihood of a pandemic it has become crucial that healthcare centers be adequately prepared for the unique challenges a pandemic Will present. Rural hospitals face additional challenges due to their remote nature and a lack of shared resources that larger communities possess. Because of their unique characteristics, pandemic preparedness is of the utmost importance for rural hospitals. Effective pandemic preparedness education is critical to ensure the fullest use of available resources including staff, equipment, medicine, facilities, etc. Efficient use of available resources Will likely result in a reduction of illness and potential loss of life. This …

A Radical Conjugate Addition Approach To The Total Synthesis Of Celogentin C, Steven G. Capps

Theses and Dissertations

The synthesis of five chiral DBFOX (dibenzofuran-oxazoline) ligands with either aryl or benzyl substituents will be presented. The requisite amino alcohols were obtained with high enantioselectivity either commercially (DBFOX/Bn), via Sharpless asymmetric aminohydroxylation (DBFOX/Nap, DBFOX/t-BuPh, DBFOX/Pip), or via phase-transfer catalyzed asymmetric alkylation (DBFOX/MeNap). These ligands, complexed with Mg(NTf2)2, were used as Lewis acid promoters of enantioselective radical conjugate additions to α/β-unsaturated nitro-amides/esters. A summary of these results is presented and discussed. These findings led us to believe that our initial binding model between metal, ligand, and substrate was flawed. Thus, we figured that if we started with a functionality known …