Digital Commons Network^™

Bilski On Biotech: The Potential For Limiting The Negative Impact Of Gene Patents, Bryan Nese

California Western Law Review

No abstract provided.

Investigation Of A Fresh African Elephant Carcass By Conspecifics, Christen Merte, Katie Gough, Bruce A. Schulte

Biology Faculty Publications

This examination of elephant bones and ivory indicates that elephants show an elevated level of interest in conspecifics over other dead animals. Elephants do not seem to express special interest in dead kin but rather they appear to have a generalized response to injured, dying and deceased conspecifics (Douglas Hamilton et al. 2006, McComb et al. 2006). The present study reports the behaviour of a group of elephants in response to a euthanized adult male elephant that suffered severe wounds inflicted by a conspecific male. Most of the observations from previous studies have been on females and female group members. …

Multi-Specie Lotka-Volterra Predator-Prey Model With Environmental Stochasticity, Dexter S. Ontoy, Roberto N. Padua

CNU Journal of Higher Education

The interaction of multiple specie of animals in an ecological system is modeled by first reducing the ecological system to a kernel ecological system consisting of keystone species and top predators in the environment through the Graph Theory. From the reduced kernel ecological system of keystone specie, a system of Lotka-Volterra differential equations is used to describe the predator-prey relationships that exist. The equations for the number of organisms per species were derived and additive environmental stochasticity or noise are added to each equation. The noise is assumed to come from an extreme value distribution or Gumbel distribution to reflect …

Structure-Function Analysis Of Endoproteolytic Cleavage: Site-Directed Mutagenesis Studies Of The Α-Msh Cleavage Site In Silurana Tropicalis Pomc, Quinn Kun Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The maturation process of many prohormone molecules typically requires endoproteolytic cleavage C-terminal of dibasic residues, such as the K¹⁴¹R¹⁴²↓ site N-terminal of the α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) sequence in Silurana tropicalis proopiomelanocortin (POMC). In order to determine the absolute requirement of basic amino acid residues in the cleavage process, site-directed mutagenesis was employed to substitute alanine for the wild-type residues in the frog POMC open reading frame. Specifically, the following underlined residues were individually targeted for alanine substitution: R ¹³⁷ Q ¹³⁸ E ¹³⁹ N ¹⁴⁰ K ¹⁴¹ R ¹⁴²↓. The mouse pancreatic αTC1.9 cell …

Between Law And Justice: Kant, Derrida, And Religious Violence, Evgeni V. Pavlov

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although a number of approaches to the issue of religious violence are already available for academic consumption, this study attempts to approach the problem of the violent tension between religious principles and secular socio-political realities from a new perspective. We argue that religious violence is best conceptualized as a moment of crisis in the relationship between law and justice, considered as both intimately related (in Kant's analysis of the rightful condition) and peculiarly disjointed (in Derrida's reflections on the possibility of "justice beyond law"). We provide a preliminary account of the necessary conditions for a future theory of religious violence …

Toward A Dialogic Interpretation Of Psychological Belief In Spirits Among Gamei Of Ghana, Ebenezer Narh Yebuah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines central aspects of the ancestral tradition of the Gamei of Ghana which have not previously been investigated systematically from a psychological perspective. It is argued that Carl Gustav Jung and his intellectual descendants are the only Western psychological thinkers who have come close to formulating a conceptual framework that is helpful in this context, because Africa featured prominently in Jung's formulations of his influential psychological theories during his archetypal journey to Africa. Accordingly, core features of Jungian theory are examined in order to determine the extent to which a psychological investigation of Gamei cosmological perspectives, particularly perspectives …

Disruptive Technologies In Systems Of Care: An Exploratory Study Of Social Work With Older Adults In Long-Term Care Facilities, Rebecca Lynn Paskind

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory research was to explore the application of knowledge about disruptive technologies to the long term care setting using the Eden Alternative^TM as an example. The research questions were: What themes of structuration emerge when a long-term care facility implements a disruptive social technology? What is the nature of the disruption between and among workers, long-term care facility culture, and professionals when a new social technology is introduced? How does social work practice with older adults change when a social technology such as Eden is introduced in a long-term care setting? Is Barley's (1984, 1986) …

A Computer Science Approach To Identify And Classify Hyperactivated Spermatozoa, Norbert Kaula

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Effective Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) relies in part upon accurate but easily conducted measurements of sperm motion parameters. Several established methods are widely used to assess possible reasons for male infertility, in human and veterinary Andrology clinics. Computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) devices quantitatively assess sperm motion parameters, which have been defined by the World Health Organization, and include the percentage of motile cells in a sample and the motion characteristics of individual cells, such as curvilinear velocity (VCL), average path velocity (VAP) and straight line velocity (VSL). However, CASA analyses fail to define hyperactive sperm motility or determine the prevalence …

Role Of Pro-Apoptotic Bcl2-Homology-3 Domain (Bh3)-Only Proteins In The Mutant Sod1 Mouse Model Of Als, Anna George Andrianakos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease involving rapid degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord and retraction of their axonal projections to the neuromuscular junctions. Several known mutations linked to some familial cases of ALS have been linked to mutations in Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1), resulting in mitochondrial oxidative stress and intrinsic apoptosis. Transgenic mice expressing a G93A mutant of SOD1 provide an in vivo model to investigate motor neuron death during disease progression. The principal regulators of intrinsic apoptosis are the Bcl-2 family proteins. While some members of this family are pro-survival, the Bcl-2 homology-3 …

Carpas, Cuentos, And Corridos: Chicano Arts And Community Building, Tanya Marina Mote

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study suggests that effective forms of participation are grounded in histories of opposition and resistance. The intermediate relationship provided by voluntary associations, unions, clubs and even bowling leagues might teach citizens to act democratically; that is, to participate in activities related to electing leaders, but their usefulness extends beyond conventional politics to efforts to expand public life and to promote democracy through a broader set of activities that combine intensely social and personal public engagement, resistance, protest, and opposition, with conventional efforts to influence leaders. The experiences of community based arts organizations provide a lens to examine both the …

A Clash Of Worldviews: The Impact Of Modern Western Notion Of Progress On Indigenous Naga Culture, Tezenlo Thong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The term "progress" is a modern Western notion that life is always improving and advancing toward an ideal state. It is a vital modern concept which underlies geographic explorations and scientific and technological inventions as well as the desire to harness nature in order to increase human beings' ease and comfort. With the advent of Western colonization and to the great detriment of the colonized, the notion of progress began to perniciously and pervasively permeate across cultures.

During the classical colonial period, Western anthropologists, sociologists and others had hypothesized, or at least ardently bought into the notion, that human beings, …

Flaming Red Wig, Carla Christina Howl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"Flaming Red Wig" is a collection of short stories and prose poems with a critical preface. Both the preface and the creative work explore notions of artifice, apposition and entering into a text (both written and character) with stillness or intrusion. I try to create an examination and communion with language on much the same level, ultimately yielding a musicality that creates a rhythmic discourse and dynamic between the significance and the notion. The title of my thesis refers to the obvious motif of artifice and the reoccurring theme of emotional pain attached to gender and humanistic role within specific …

A Critical Realist Exploration Of The Relationship Between Personal And Professional Value Systems In Social Workers And The Impact On Motivations For Participation In A Social Work Community Of Practice, Philip Jonathan Osteen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses questions about the nature of relationships between personal and professional value systems and between personal and professional identities, about motivations for engaging in a social work community of practice, and about alternative statistical methods for evaluating the psychometric properties of an original measure of motivation for participation in a social work community of practice. By merging communities of practice theory, derived from social learning theory, and critical social realist theory, this study bridges an ideological gap between the origins and evolution of personal and social identities. The study utilizes a mixed-method approach to (1) develop a measure …

Becoming Good Europeans? Globality, The Eu And The Potential To Realize Nietzsche's Idea Of Europe, Michael J. Mcneal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation takes up Friedrich Nietzsche’s notion of ‘good Europeanism’ and his related idea of Europe to show how the former disposition may be cultivated to achieve the latter—a reinvigorated culture on the continent. It does so by applying his vitalist politics and power ontology (will to power hypothesis and theory of decadence) to critique European integration in the broader context of globalization. The analysis enables me to theorize how “healthy” individuals might exploit opportunities in the present to become 'good Europeans', with the aim of realizing Nietzsche’s quasi-cosmopolitan idea of Europe. It is my primary contention that Nietzsche’s diagnosis …

April 4, 1968: Death, Difference, And Dialogue, Kristine Marie Warrenburg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Robert Kennedy's announcement of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., in an Indianapolis urban community that did not revolt in riots on April 4, 1968, provides one significant example in which feelings, energy, and bodily risk resonate alongside the articulated message. The relentless focus on Kennedy's spoken words, in historical biographies and other critical research, presents a problem of isolated effect because the power really comes from elements outside the speech act. Thus, this project embraces the complexities of rhetorical effectivity, which involves such things as the unique situational context, all participants (both Kennedy and his audience) of the …

Representational Subversions And The Limits Of Postcoloniality: Shahzia Sikander's Strategic Contemporaneity, Linda Eilene Sanchez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Transnational artist Shahzia Sikander challenges the limitations of Edward Said's postcolonial emphasis on secular humanism by deploying the heterogeneous traditions of South Asian miniature painting while strategically drawing on tradition to critique contemporaneity. Through a palimpsest process of composition, Sikander reincorporates the unknown and silenced histories implicit in the tradition of miniature painting to create social imaginaries with motifs that draw on the diverse traditions of South Asian religions and aesthetics to create a subversive politics of remembering wherein alternative images of cosmopolitanism emerge. Through a sustained analysis, this dissertation demonstrates how these alternative traditions interrogate and critique the limitations …

Impacts Of Tamarisk Biocontrol (Diorhabda Elongata) On The Trophic Dynamics Of Terrestrial Insects In Monotypic Tamarisk Stands, Stephanie Michelle Carroll Strudley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Combating tamarisk (Tamarix spp.), an exotic tree species that has invaded 1-1.6 million hectares of riparian land in the Midwestern United States, with the introduced leaf beetle Diorhabda elongata provides an opportunity to evaluate how the trophic spectra of terrestrial insects respond to a herbivorous biocontrol. To evaluate this restoration approach and the interaction biocontrol may have with terrestrial insect populations, I quantified trophic unit richness and abundance and common family abundance of resident insect populations while also measuring biocontrol abundance and status during the previous season (present or not present). These measurements were taken four times throughout one …

Nutrient Analysis Of The Estuarine And River Waters Of The Santa Margarita River Estuary, Barbara Elisabeth Long

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to analyze nutrient concentrations in the estuarine and river waters of the Santa Margarita River Estuary located on United States Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton in northern San Diego County, north of Oceanside, California.

The Promotion And Prevention Of Ahwahnee Water Principles For Resource Efficient Land Use In The Cities Of Ontario And San Bernardino, Melissa Danielle Miller

Theses Digitization Project

This project will explore the environmental benefits of sustainable land use practices as defined in the Ahwahnee Water Principles for Resource Efficient Land Use. These principles identify resource efficient land use practices that local communities can implement. City ordinances contain barriers to prevent the implementation of Ahwahnee Water Principles. The city of Ontario's municipal code, New Model Colony General Plan, and several specific area plans as well as San Bernardino's general plan, municipal code, and University Hills Specific Plan were analyzed to identify preventions and promotions of these water principles. It was discovered both cities have high percentages in the …

Modulation Of Memory Formation Following Violations Of Conditioned Expectations, Dennis Antonio Amodeo

Theses Digitization Project

Increment in attention to the conditioned stimulus (CS) leads to an increased rate of acquisition of new associations involving CS. While the neuroanatomical basis of the phenomenon is largely understood, little is known about the synaptic mechanisms underlying memory formation for prediction error. The current experiment tests the overall hypothesis that this specific form of memory depends on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation.

Role Of Dorsostriatal D1 And D2 Receptors In Modulating The Kappa Opioid-Mediated Locomotor Activity Of Preweanling Rats: Importance Of Synergistic Activation, Sergios Charntikov

Theses Digitization Project

Infusions of the nonselective dopamine agonist R( - ) propylnorapomorphine (NPA) into the dorsal striatum of preweanling rats atteuates kappa opioid-mediated locomotor activity. The purpose of this thesis was to ascertain which dopamine receptor subtype (D1 or D2) is responsible for this effect. It was hypothsized that a) D1, but not D2, receptors in the dorsal striatum underlie NPA's ability to attenuate the kappa opioid-mediated locomotor activity of preweanling rats, and b) microinjectng SKF38393 (a D1 agonist), and not quinpirole (a D2 agonist), would attenuate kappa opioid-mediated locomotion.

Welcome To The World Of Tomorrow Today: Matt Groening's Futurama As Posthuman Mediator, Amanda Jill Taylor

Theses Digitization Project

In this thesis an explanation of posthuman theory along with a close analysis of both Fry and the robot Bender. These analyses respectively show how we are already posthuman as well as the material limitations of posthuman subjectivity.

Genetic Analysis Of Two Phenotypes In Variovorax Paradoxus Strain Eps, Michael Jherek Pehl

Theses Digitization Project

The formation of biofilms is a complex process that involves activation of a wide array of genetic material within the cells found living within the biofilm. It has been shown that altered colony morphology has been associated with different biofilm levels within P. aureginosa. This analysis will provide further evidence of the strength of the colony morphology screen to isolate mutants with altered biofilm or swarming abilities.

Teacher Perceptions Of Environmental Education: An Exploratory Assessment, Joye Charlotte Marika Cantrell

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to initiate an exploratory assessment of teacher knowledge, values, and environmental education practices at a local urban high school to gain general perception of a staff's readiness to yet embrace another teacher certification requirement.

Cc: Connecticut College Magazine, Winter 2008-2009, Connecticut College

Alumni News/Connecticut College Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Global Independent Media Center Network, Dorothy Kidd

Media Studies

No abstract provided.

Note To Athletes, Nfl, And Nba: Dog Fighting Is A Crime, Not A Sport, Phyllis G. Coleman

Faculty Scholarship

Americans were finally forced to face the issue of animal abuse and professional athletes when investigators discovered 66 pit bulls, in addition to dog fighting equipment, at a home owned by "pro football's most electrifying quarterback." Although Michael Vick insisted he did not live in the house, and initially denied knowledge of any such activity on his Virginia property, stories of his involvement continued to swirl around the Atlanta Falcons' franchise player. On July 17, 2007, Vick and three others were indicted by a federal grand jury for competitive dog fighting, procuring and training pit bulls for fighting, and conducting …

A Novel Autotransporter Adhesin Is Required For Efficient Colonization During Bubonic Plague, Matthew B. Lawrenz, Jonathan D. Lenz, Virginia L. Miller

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

The Coxiella Burnetii Ankyrin Repeat Domain-Containing Protein Family Is Heterogeneous, With C-Terminal Truncations That Influence Dot/Icm-Mediated Secretion, Daniel E. Voth, Dale Howe, Paul A. Beare, Joseph P. Vogel, Nathan Unsworth, James E. Samuel, Robert A. Heinzen

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Researching Initiatives And Referendums In Arkansas, Joseph A. Custer

Faculty Publications

This bibliographic essay and guide to researching Arkansas initiatives and referendums is intended to assist anyone interested in this vital subject.