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Faculty Newsnotes 2009 No. 410, Office Of The Provost

Faculty Newsnotes (1972-2010)

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Bovine Exclosure Fencing On Water Quality And Vegetative Conditions,Bluewater Creek, New Mexico., Darrell Kundargi

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

Livestock grazing can have a profound effect on water quality and vegetation of riparian ecosystems. In this study, the impacts of livestock grazing on surface water quality and vegetation was investigated along Bluewater Creek in the Zuni Mountains of New Mexico. The impacts of grazing were studied by comparing three areas enclosed with bovine fencing in 2003 against unenclosed adjacent areas. A section free of grazing since the 1980s served as a reference area. Sampling sites were further stratified by the dominant geomorphology of incised and stable stream banks. Surface water temperature, conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), turbidity, N03--N + …

Isolation And Characterization Of A Spontaneously Immortalized Bovine Retinal Pigmented Epithelial Cell Line, Thomas E. Liggett, T. Daniel Griffiths, Elizabeth R. Gaillard

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Background

The Retinal Pigmented Epithelium (RPE) is juxtaposed with the photoreceptor outer segments of the eye. The proximity of the photoreceptor cells is a prerequisite for their survival, as they depend on the RPE to remove the outer segments and are also influenced by RPE cell paracrine factors. RPE cell death can cause a progressive loss of photoreceptor function, which can diminish vision and, over time, blindness ensues. Degeneration of the retina has been shown to induce a variety of retinopathies, such as Stargardt's disease, Cone-Rod Dystrophy (CRD), Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), Fundus Flavimaculatus (FFM), Best's disease and Age-related Macular Degeneration …

Designing A Village Water Supply System In Papua New Guinea: A Case Study In Third World Delopment, Barak Bruerd

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the second largest island in the world and one of the most biologically and culturally diverse nations on the planet. One of the last true stone age people, they are struggling with the delicate balance of entering the 21st century without losing their unique cultural heritage or devastating the fragile ecosystem they have lived in harmony with for thousands of years. Slow, careful steps are needed in order to ensure sustainable development; however the hardships of living close to nature - disease, drought, malnutrition, and lack of access to healthcare services, are causing Papua New …

“The Bus Stops Here”: Place-Making And Transit Justice Issues In The Twin Cities Public Bus Network, Megan A. Macpherson

Geography Honors Projects

This project engages the formation of place-narratives within the Metro Transit bus system by examining the structural factors and individual agents shaping a passenger’s experience of the bus. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, I bring together the literatures of transportation geography, and cultural/feminist geographies. Major themes from my research include the bus as a theater of performance/theater of conflict, the bus as a gateway to public life for those with limited mobility, and the bus as a relational space for specific passenger groups. Additionally, this project explores the significance of place within transit justice work in the Twin Cities. I …

Prediction Of Persistence Of Fertilizer-Derived Cadmium In Oregon Agricultural Soils Using Equilibrium Modeling And Fertilizer Release Kinetics, Fungai Mukome

Dissertations and Theses

Organic farming has become a multimillion dollar industry and while much emphasis is put on subsequent fertilizer inputs onto these fields, very little consideration is given to the prior fertilization activities of these soils. For a farm to be certified organic it means no harmful chemicals have been applied for at least three years.

The overall hypothesis tested by this research was that equilibrium adsorption models can adequately represent the behavior of fertilizer-derived cadmium in Oregon agricultural soils and that such model results can be easily incorporated into risk assessment models, transport study models and persistence studies for organic or …

Shrinking The Janzen-Connell Doughnut: Consequences Of An Invasive Multiplier (Microstegium Vimineum) On The Mid-Canopy In A Mixed Pine-Oak Forest, Rebekha Shaw

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction of invasive species can alter seed fate predictions made by the Janzen-Connell Escape Hypothesis (JCEH). The JCEH states that there is a suitable region around a plant that is ideal for seed germination, growth, and recruitment. Seeds dispersed too close to the maternal plant are subject to competition from the maternal individual and perhaps density-dependent predation, whereas seeds dispersed further away may end up in suboptimal habitats. Invasive species may change the amount of these suitable habitats for native plants by creating unsuitable light environments and as a result, may influence the size of the ideal recruitment zone surrounding …

Examining Campus Crime At Virginia’S Colleges And Universities, Christina M. Barnes

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines reported campus crime at Virginia’s institutions of higher education. Utilizing secondary data and content analysis, the research seeks to determine the amount and types of crime occurring on Virginia campuses and which correlates explain such crimes. Three sources of campus crime statistics are included and scrutinized in detail, including the Clery Act statistics, Virginia Incident-Based Reporting statistics and campus crime logs. Regardless of data source, findings indicate that the vast majority of reported campus crime is comprised of property offenses. The research argues to separate analyses by campus police departments versus campus security departments for more meaningful …

Comparative Study Of The Ritual Aspects Of Western And Asian Performance, Hyung Don Lee

Theses and Dissertations

This comparative study focuses on ritual aspects of Western and Asian performance. We may say that ritual in contemporary theater production has limitation to become realization. The limitation arises from contemporary period’s nature. We know that these days we do not have common or collective psyche. However, some theatre artists are trying to get back ritual function and process to recover real communion between spectator and performer throughout performance.

St. Mark’S Catholic Community Of The Deaf, May 3, 2009

Saint Mark's Catholic Community of the Deaf

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Edmonton, Canada

Saint Mark's Catholic Community of the Deaf Finding Aid

2008-2009 Roberta Rust In Recital: Honoring Haydn, Roberta Rust, Marina Stojanovska, Natasa Stojanovska, Maryna Yermolenko, Christine Echezabal, Molin Wang, Chien-I Yang

Faculty Recitals

A concert commemorating the bicentennial of the death of Franz Joseph Haydn in May 1809.

Morals On Stilts: Assessing The Value Of Intergenerational Environmental Ethics, Trevor Updegraff

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Afro-Cuban Abakuá: Rhythmic Origins To Modern Applications, Donald Brooks Truly

Open Access Dissertations

The objective of this doctoral essay is to help shed some light on the Afro-Cuban musical style called the Abakuá. This essay traces the development of the Abakuá secret society and its music from its ancestral beginnings in Africa (with the Èfik and Efut Leopard Societies), through its movement into Cuba and the development of the first lodge (in the eighteen hundreds), to its eventual influence in America. This essay also describes the impact the Abakuá has had on music in general, but especially the music of the Cuban Rumba and Afro-Cuban jazz. Detail is given on many different aspects …

Syngas From Biomass Gasification As Fuel For Generator, Ajay Shah

Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of biomass based energy warrants the evaluation of syngas from biomass gasification as a fuel for personal power systems. The objectives of this study were to determine the performance and exhaust emissions of a commercial 5.5 kW generator modified for operation with 100% syngas at different syngas flows and to compare the results with those obtained for gasoline operation at same electrical power. Maximum power output for gasoline operation was 2451 W and maximum power output for syngas operation was 1392 W. Overall efficiencies of the generator were same at maximum electrical power outputs for operation with both …

"A Pbs Mind In An Mtv World": Teaching Teenagers Meteorology By Placing A Weather Forecast On Mtv And The Creation Of The Concert Forecast, Victoria Leigh Shaw

Theses and Dissertations

Studies show teenagers are influenced by television. This study tested the hypothesis that students can learn meteorology by viewing a weather forecast on Music Television (MTV). MTV was used because it is the network watched most by adolescents. Two surveys were administered to 175 high school students along with a DVD showing a weather forecast for MTV’s Spring Break. Half of the sample group was told the forecast was for MTV and the other was told it was for Channel One. Results showed that there was no statistically significant difference between MTV and Channel One in information recalled from the …

An Assessment Of The Inservice Training Needs Of Mississippi County Extension Directors In The Area Of Program Needs Assessment, Martha Jackson-Banks

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to address in-service training needs of Mississippi County Extension Directors in the area of program needs assessment. The population consisted of the 80 County Extension Directors; 2 positions were vacant. Eighty percent of County Extension Directors responded. County Extension Directors that responded by program area: 38 Agriculture and Natural Resources, 12 Family and Consumer Sciences, 4 4-H Youth Development, and 10 County Extension Directors that are Generalists. Sixty-one percent were male and 39 percent were female. Eight percent completed a bachelor’s degree, 11% completed a bachelor’s degree plus graduate work towards master’s degree, 60% …

Blood Knot, William Nicholas White

Theses and Dissertations

This collection of original poetry is preceded by a critical introduction that details how Marianne Moore and Elizabeth Bishop’s similar aesthetics in poetry have influenced my own. The following poems focus on themes that challenge the nature of “manhood,” particularly the archetype of Southern masculinity, and highlight characters who struggle to understand themselves, their desires, and their society. The critical essay tracks how Bishop’s personifications, as she grows as a poet and as her narrator’s “drive into the interior” of nature, become harder to define and control and how this loss of control precipitates a jubilant self-awareness—an awareness of the …

Characterization Of Late Embryonic B Cell Stages In Chicken Bursa Of Fabricius, Balazs Felfoldi

Theses and Dissertations

B cell development in chicken takes place in a specific primary lymphoid organ, the bursa of Fabricius. The bursa is considered to provide a microenvironment that promotes B lymphocyte survival and maturation. The most important maturation step in the bursa is the immunoglobulin (Ig) gene conversion, a process that is responsible for immunoglobulin repertoire in avian species. The Ig-gene conversion is strictly regulated, and only progenitors that are able to initiate the process will develop into fully functional B lymphocytes. In this study the late embryonic B lymphocyte stages are investigated, the bursal stem cell stage and the onset of …

Cho-Human Hybrid Cells As Models For Human Chromosome Non-Disjunction, Elizabeth Balconi Evans

Theses and Dissertations

We have used Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-human hybrid cells containing chromosomes 16, 18, X, and 21 to test the ability of human kinetochores to successfully bind to spindle microtubules and to be distributed to the daughter cells. We have established the intrinsic rate of non-disjunction among these human chromosomes noted above and compared these rates with those in cells presented with mitotic challenges such as taxol, nocodazole, and mitosis with unreplicated genomes (MUG). Cells were grown on culture slides, fixed and processed for immunofluorescence and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Daughter pairs were identified by staining with anti-á-tubulin to identify …

The Effects Of Feeding A Ground Raw Soybean Diet On Reproductive Performance And Carcass Quality Of Prepubertal Gilts, Daniel Jason Sykes

Theses and Dissertations

The administration of raw soybeans to the diet of prepubertal gilts had no effect (p>0.05) on age to puberty, number of corpora lutea, or embryos present. Also, the number of pigs farrowed live and 28d litter weights did not differ between gilts consuming the raw soybean diet and gilts consuming the control diet. There was a reduction (p<0.05) in the number of pigs weaned in the group consuming the raw soybeans but no differences (p>0.05) in weaning weights. Gilts fed the raw soybean diet had a reduction (p=0.05) of hot carcass weights compared to gilts consuming the control diet but exhibited no differences for other carcass parameters measured. Thermal imaging was able to differentiate gilts …

The Use Of Non-Invasive Monitoring Techniques For Profiling Hormonal Changes Associated With Stress And Reproductive Cyclicity In Domestic And Non-Domestic Species, Marcus Mcgee

Theses and Dissertations

Accurately examining animal endocrine profiles pose unique challenges due to possible human interaction influencing basal values. Standard methods of gathering information about an animal’s endocrine status are often dependent upon restraint and use of invasive methodologies. However to accurately monitor the influence management practices, blood sampling sometimes requires that hormone measurements be observed from animals in a relaxed state. To this end, methods for non-invasive monitoring (NIM) are greatly needed to obtain basal endocrine measurements. Such methods include fecal collections followed by hormone extraction, and remote sampling technologies for obtaining blood samples without handling. The overall objective of this study …

Pictures With A Voice: Understanding The Everyday Lives Of Native Americans Of The Chickasaw Nation In Developing A Nutrition Social Marketing Campaign, Krystal Rebecca Bowen

Theses and Dissertations

Randomly selected Native American families eligible to receive commodity foods were provided cameras to take pictures of visual responses in the areas of: 1) primary food purchases, 2) family use of food, 3) family activities and information access, and 4) future goals of the family. Using a focus-group format, participants chose five pictures that represented the group’s consensual responses. Selected pictures and meaning were analyzed using thematic analysis procedures. Twelve families completed the project. There were four major themes: 1) the importance of family and the Native-American community, 2) health of individual and family including extended family as it pertains …

Determination Of Induction Of Nur77 (Nr4a1), Nor1 (Nr4a3), And Nurr1 (Nr4a2), Josiah Wilcots

Theses and Dissertations

Previous data have implicated both neuronal activity and dopamine (DA) autoreceptor activation in the modulation of Nur receptor expression in dopamine neurons. Since dopamine receptor antagonists block the autoreceptors but also alter dopamine release and dopamine neuron activity, the mechanism responsible for gene expression is unclear. We hypothesized that blocking the stimulation of dopamine autoreceptors will be the mechanism that causes the induction of the nuclear receptor genes. To test this hypothesis, we treated 78 mice (1hr or 4hr incubation periods) with either a dopamine D2 receptor agonist (quinpirole), a D2 receptor antagonist (sulpiride or haloperidol) or γ-butyrolactone (GBL), a …

Campus Emergency Evacuation Traffic Management Plan, Di Wu

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis was motivated to simulate the evacuation traffic of Mississippi Stated University (MSU) main campus using the Path-Following logic of TSIS/CORSIM and to evaluate a set of traffic management plans. Three scenarios of traffic management plans were developed and tested. A NCT of 123 minutes was projected if evacuate without any plan. In comparison, under a pre-planned traffic management plan the NCT would decrease to 39 minutes. Further, if implement contra flow the NCT would reduce to 21 minutes. If even further adjust the signal timing plans at the university exits a NCT of 20 minutes would be achieved. …

Effect On Children's Eating Behavior And Self-Efficacy From Participation In Fun With Food Summer Camp, Alma Land Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Surface heterogeneities cause differential heating that can generate mesoscale convective boundaries, sometimes leading to cloud development and enhanced localized precipitation. A preferred cloud pattern has been identified across Maryland and the Delmarva Peninsula region from 1998-2006 through the detection of cumuliform clouds on days when synoptic-scale forcing is weak. Hourly visible Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imagery data are used to identify convective cloud masses. This allows quantitative description of the frequency and spatiotemporal extent of the clouds, helping forecasters gain insight into when and where they are likely to develop. Despite the inability to determine the underlying causes of …

Stakeholder Salience In The Family Firm, John Kirk Ring

Theses and Dissertations

Family firms are replete with problems concerning family and business issues but they remain the most dominant form of business worldwide. Decisions about strategy, structure, and goals of the firm play an integral part in the distinction of family firms from nonamily firms (Chrisman, Chua & Sharma, 2005) and these decisions are further complicated in the family firm by the interaction of the family and business systems (Stafford, Duncan, Danes & Winter, 1999). Sharma (2000) and Chrisman and colleagues (2005) call for research of this interaction through the utilization of stakeholder theory because family firms involve a specific array of …

Long-Term Trend Analysis Of Climatic Factors Influencing Autumn-Winter Migration Of Mallards In The Mississippi Flyway, Christina Elizabeth Zimmerman

Theses and Dissertations

Anecdotal evidence suggests that increased numbers of waterfowl are remaining at northern latitudes throughout winter in the Mississippi Flyway. A calculated weather severity index (WSI), based on temperature and snow data, determined that local mallard abundance decreases when a WSI of 8 is reached. In mapping the WSI 8 line, mallard movement can be estimated. A fifty year trend analysis of the climatic factors driving duck migration for various locations within the Mississippi Flyway was used to determine whether climatic shifts have occurred, finding that although there are sinusoidal temperature trends throughout those years, the past decade has a longer …

Lysine And Threonine Responses In Ross X Ross Tp16 Male Broilers, Derrick Lashawn Everett

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Lys and Thr responses of TP-16 male broilers. Experiment 1 (14-28 d of age) showed no significant live performance effects. In Experiment 2, Lys and Thr (P=0.021) interacted to affect 28 to 42 d body weight gain and (P=0.004) feed intake. Lys main effects improved body weight gain (P=0.002), and feed conversion (P=0.009). Thr fed at the 0.68% level improved body weight gain and feed conversion. Mortality did not differ among treatments and averaged 0.09% across all treatments. The study indicated the sensitivity of the Thr:Lys ratio when broilers are fed …

Flagellar Sensilla Of Females Of Selected Species Of Vespidae (Hymenoptera), Andrew Oliver Mccaskill

Theses and Dissertations

Little information regarding the flagellar sensilla of the Vespidae, particularly Polistes, exists in the literature. A variety of social behaviors in vespids, such as alarm pheromones and pheromone response, involve intraspecific communication. Therefore, an understanding of sensory receptors in social wasps would benefit further behavioral and neurological studies of wasps. The flagellar sensilla of female paper wasps Polistes dorsalis, Polistes metricus, and the solitary wasp Monobia quadridens were examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. A number of olfactory receptors, contact chemoreceptors, and mechanoreceptors were named and described. Possible functions of these receptors were proposed based on morphological and ultrastructural …

Hyperspectral Image Visualization Using Double And Multiple Layers, Shangshu Cai

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation develops new approaches for hyperspectral image visualization. Double and multiple layers are proposed to effectively convey the abundant information contained in the original high-dimensional data for practical decision-making support. The contributions of this dissertation are as follows. 1.Development of new visualization algorithms for hyperspectral imagery. Double-layer technique can display mixed pixel composition and global material distribution simultaneously. The pie-chart layer, taking advantage of the properties of non-negativity and sum-to-one abundances from linear mixture analysis of hyperspectral pixels, can be fully integrated with the background layer. Such a synergy enhances the presentation at both macro and micro scales. 2.Design …